Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Ranma's Nightmare on Elm Street [2005 Remake] ❯ Ranma's Nightmare on Elm Street [2005 Remake] ( One-Shot )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Chris 
A retelling of the classic battle between Ranma Saotome and Freddy Krueger! Updated and remade for 2005.
Anime/Manga: Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Thriller / Martial Arts / Horror | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 04.14.2005 | Pages: 8 | Words: 7.3K | Visits: 607 | Status: Completed
A retelling of the classic battle between Ranma Saotome and Freddy Krueger! Updated and remade for 2005.
Anime/Manga: Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Thriller / Martial Arts / Horror | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 04.14.2005 | Pages: 8 | Words: 7.3K | Visits: 607 | Status: Completed
All standard legal procedures apply here. You know Ranma and friends don't belong to me and neither does the Nightmare on Elm Street title or Freddy Krueger or anyone I feel compelled to use from the Nightmare on Elm Street series. This fic contains scenes of mild violence, adult language, and adult content.
Ranma's Nightmare on Elm Street
by Chris Vegvary
Ranma Saotome sat in the backyard of the Tendo household, kneeling in front of the koi pond. Grinning to himself for some reason, he stared into the water and watched the fish swim around. Hearing footsteps behind him, he looked back to see his sister, Ranko, walking towards him.
“What are you doing, bro?” she asked. “How come you’re out here alone?”
Ranma shrugged, turning his attention back to the swimming fish. “I don’t know. Just thinking.”
“What about?” Ranko persisted. “You’ve got this huge grin on your face.”
He hesitated for a moment before answering, wondering if his sister would make fun of him. He quickly dismissed that idea, knowing he could trust her. She was, after all, his sibling. “Well...I think I finally want to tell Akane how I feel about her. You know. See what happens.”
She smiled. “I think that’s a good idea, Ranma. Glad you decided to get it overwith. Anyway, breakfast is ready. Are you coming inside to eat?”
“Yeah...I’ll be there in a minute.”
Ranko turned and walked back toward the house. Ranma put his hands on his knees and began to stand up, but he stopped halfway through.
Something in the koi pond caught his eye and he was sure it wasn’t just a passing fish. His grin faded as he looked into the water, realizing he was not seeing his own reflection now, but that of someone completely different.
“Wha...” he began, and could say no more. The reflection he was seeing was of a badly scarred and truly horrific-looking man. He wore a dark brown fedora on his head and an old-looking red and green sweater that, because of the way this man looked, Ranma did not associate with Christmas. But the worst part was the glove. One hand was covered by a dirty old work glove that was clearly customized for use of murderous intent. The back of the glove had a steel plate attached to it that held four steel finger covers over all finger except his thumb. At the tips of the finger covers, about six inches of sharp steel blade was imbedded in each. Fingerknives, Ranma thought idly.
The reflection then proceeded to actually speak to Ranma, and Ranma clearly heard the deep, evil voice of the man he was looking at: “Kill for me...”
* * * * *
Later that night, Ranma slept uneasily. He was tossing and turning and mumbling to himself. After a few minutes, he jolted up in his bed, breathing hard, his heart racing.
Must’ve been some nightmare, he thought. I can’t even remember it.
Ranma decided that as long as he was up, he might as well get a glass of water. He got out of bed and stood up, clad in boxers and a wife-beater. He left the room quietly, so as not to awaken his father or sister, and closed the door on his way out. He headed toward the bathroom at the top of the stairs. Just before he went in, there was a sound of breaking glass from downstairs. He peered over the railing.
“Hello?”
He got no response, but he saw a shadow move.
“Kasumi? Is that you?”
Ranma slowly began to descend the staircase. All of a sudden, he began to feel nervous, as if something was watching him, luring him into some sort of trap from which even he, the greatest martial artist of all time, could not escape.
“Akane?”
No one answered him. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he glanced toward the kitchen and saw the outline of a female figure. Even though it was dark, there was just enough moonlight coming in through the windows for Ranma to see that the girl was completely naked.
“Shampoo? Is that you?”
Whoever it was, she was making small, barely noticeable sounds of desire as she started slowly towards him. She also appeared to be caressing herself. Ranma suddenly felt ashamed and looked away.
“Uh, do you need some clothes or something?” he asked, blushing, still not looking at her.
“Ranma,” the girl said softly and sensually. There was no doubt in Ranma’s mind now that it was, indeed, Akane. He looked at her, eyes wide. “Ranma, I need you...”
Ranma couldn’t help but grin a little at that, but he was suddenly terrified beyond reason. As Akane’s shape moved closer to him, her body expanded and changed. Her voice deepened considerably, changing to the voice of the scarred man Ranma had seen earlier.
“I need you to kill for me!”
Ranma almost fell backwards at that point. He blinked for a split second–and the shape was gone. Breathing heavily, he swiftly turned around to see if somehow the scarred man had gotten behind him, but there was nothing but a dark staircase. He began to relax and breathed a sigh of relief.
He turned back towards the kitchen entrance, only to see that the scarred man was less than a foot away. As Ranma gasped, the scarred man opened his clawed hand right in front of Ranma’s face, drawing a fierce sound...
Ranma woke up at that instant. He jolted up in his bed, breathing hard, his heart racing.
* * * * *
THE NEXT NIGHT...
Inside the Tendo house, Genma and Ranko were watched by someone as they slept. The man who watched them turned his gaze toward the bedroom door and started towards it. He opened it with his left hand and walked down the dark hallway. He looked around and then headed for the bottom of the stairs. At the base of the stairs, he turned right and into another dark hallway with two doors on either side of the hall and one at the end that led to the downstairs bathroom. He went to the first door, which held a white plaque that read “Kasumi”. The man opened the door and walked in and over to Kasumi's bed and watched her momentarily. He turned around and left the room, closing the door behind him. He went past Nabiki's room and headed for Akane’s room. The man opened the door and walked quickly to the side of the bed. Akane was sleeping, snuggled up with P-chan. There was a semi-loud clicking sound of metal that caused Akane to stir.
“Wake up...” the man said in that deep, evil voice.
Akane stirred a little more and put her hand to her head. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked right at him.
“What is it, Ranma?” Akane asked groggily, still half asleep.
Ranma stood there for a moment, unable to say anything.
“...Nothing,” he said gently. “Go back to sleep.”
Akane smiled briefly as she closed her eyes and lay back on her side. Ranma went to pull her covers up over her shoulders, but he flinched back. On his right hand, he was wearing the scarred man’s glove.
“What’s happening to me...?” he whispered to himself.
* * * * *
THE NEXT MORNING...
The Tendos, the Saotomes, and P-chan were gathered around the dining table, enjoying breakfast. The only person who hadn’t made an appearance that morning was Ranma.
“Hey Ranko,” Akane said, “have you seen Ranma today?”
Ranko looked up from her food. “Yeah, he didn’t look too good this morning. I think he’s sick.”
“Where is he?”
“Um...outside by the koi pond, I think.”
“I’ll go check on him.”
Akane stood up and went out the back door. She saw Ranma, his back to her, standing by the koi pond and staring out into Nerima, not really focusing on anything.
“Ranma? Is something wrong?”
For a minute, he didn’t respond. Akane began to think he didn’t hear her, when he said: “I don't know.”
“Well, um...we can talk about it...if you want.” She began to walk towards him, taking it slow.
He sighed. “I’m having some...problems.”
“What kind of problems?”
“I think they're psychological. Beyond your field of expertise, I’m sure.”
She stopped, feeling a little insulted. “I'm just trying to help, Ranma. If you don't want to tell me, fine. I'll go back inside and eat.” Akane turned around and started back inside.
Ranma gritted his teeth. “Wait!”
Akane stopped and turned back. She began to walk towards him again. Ranma also turned around to look at her, and she gasped.
“My god, Ranma, are you alright? You look terrible!”
“I've been having bad nightmares...they're getting worse each time I fall asleep.”
“Is that all? A dream is just a dream, Ranma, nothing more.”
He shook his head. “Wrong. There's this guy...this weird guy...he keeps showing up in my dreams. He keeps asking me to do something for him.”
“What?” Akane asked, not fully comprehending what Ranma was trying to say.
“He, uh...wants me to kill people.”
“Jesus, Ranma...it’s just a dream.”
“Stop saying that!” he yelled, but Akane was too stunned by what he just told her to be offended by him yelling at her. He bowed his head so he wasn’t looking at her. “Do you remember what happened really late last night?”
“No, I went to bed at around ten.”
“And I went in there at about three in the morning. I didn’t even know what I was doing until...” he almost said, until it was almost too late.
She studied his face, knowing he wasn’t making it up; he was genuinely scared, and that scared her. She had never seen him in this condition before.
“Ranma...will you please come with me to Doctor Tofu’s? I want to help you.”
Ranma sighed again, almost resisting...but in the end, he agreed.
* * * * *
Ranma sat on the table in the doctor’s office, waiting for Doctor Tofu to come out of the back room with the results of his tests. Akane sat in a chair nearby. Neither of them spoke, which made waiting a little harder. Finally, Doctor Tofu entered the room, looking down at the papers he was carrying.
“Well, so far as I can tell,” he said, looking up at Ranma, “you're extremely healthy. Although, you do look like you could use a bit of sleep.”
Ranma sighed heavily. “I think I’ve had enough sleep lately.”
Doctor Tofu nodded and looked back down at his papers. “Look, I know these nightmares may seem real, but...”
“You have no idea, Doc.”
“Alright...listen. It’s against my better judgment, but you seem really put off by these dreams, so...I’m going to prescribe something for you. It’s an experimental drug, so be extremely careful in how you use it. And please...”
“Thanks, Doc. And don’t worry, I didn’t get them from you.”
Tofu nodded again. “I’m only doing this because I want you to be healthy again, mentally.”
He reached into his pocket and produced a small bottle of pills. The label read: “HYPNOCIL – Used for suppression of dreams.” He handed the bottle to Ranma.
“Take just one before bed. Any more than that, and I can’t guarantee your safety.”
“Thank you again, Doctor Tofu,” Akane said. “We'd better get going or we'll be late for school.”
Akane and Ranma stood and prepared to walk outside.
“Actually, Akane,” Tofu said suddenly, “I would like to talk to you before you go. It’ll only take a moment.”
She hesitated and looked at Ranma. “I’ll be right out.”
Ranma nodded and went outside.
Akane turned to Tofu. “What is it, Doctor?”
* * * * *
Ranma stood outside the doctor’s office, watching the world go by. He felt better having these pills. Moments later, the door behind him opened and Akane stepped out. He glanced at her and saw that she looked a bit distant.
“Akane? What’s up?”
“Huh?” she said distractedly. “Oh, it’s nothing. Come on, let’s go to school.”
As they walked, Ranma began to feel like Akane was hiding something from him. She didn’t talk and she barely looked at him. He was about to ask her what was wrong when he felt a sharp pain, almost like a stitch in his side. He stopped. “Ugh...” was all he could muster.
Akane turned to look at him. “What's wrong?”
“I feel like...my stomach...”
Ranma doubled over in pain. Akane ran to his side, but he slowly began to stand up straight. The look in his eyes was very different than it usually was.
“Are you ok?”
After a moment, Ranma responded. “I'm fine. Come on, before we're late.”
He took off running and Akane followed quickly. They ran the rest of the way to school. At the front gate, they were confronted by Tatewaki Kuno. He began to spout forth irrelevant poetry that no one followed, and proclaimed himself the “Red Streak” of Furinkan High.
“Cut the crap, Kuno,” Ranma said insolently. “We don't have time for this today!”
“You DARE to insult Tatewaki Kuno, the ‘Red Streak,’ with your abusive language? I'll teach you a lesson you won’t soon forget, Saotome!”
Kuno rushed towards Ranma with his wooden bokken. Ranma executed a double flip over Kuno's head and landed behind him. When he landed, though, he started feeling strange again. Unfortunately, Kuno used that to his advantage and struck Ranma in the side. When Ranma hit the ground wincing in pain, as Akane watched in concern from off to the side, the events that occurred in the next few seconds seemed to go in slow motion. Ranma got up quickly and swiped his hand four inches in front of Kuno's face. When his hand flashed past Kuno's face, there were two sounds: a metal clicking sound and a quick swiping sound.
Kuno stood there for a second, a stunned look on his face. Then, four lines of blood appeared across his face and he grabbed at them, screaming. Akane rushed over to help him. She looked at Ranma.
"My god...Ranma, what--"
Ranma looked at his hand in shock. There was no blood. He didn't know how he did what he did to Kuno. Looking at Akane, he saw that she was truly scared and he did the only thing he could think of. He took off back towards the Tendo Dojo.
* * * * *
Ranma sat in his room, wondering what he'd done. There was a knock at the door and before he could answer, Akane and Ranko stepped in. Ranma didn't turn around.
"Ranma, are you ok?” Ranko asked.
"Leave,” Ranma replied flatly.
Akane held her anger. "We want to help, Ranma. Whatever it is that's wrong, we're here to help you."
"Please...just go. I'll be fine, I promise." He held up his bottle of Hypnocil and shook it slightly. "See?"
Akane and Ranko sighed heavily and left the room without another word. Out in the hallway, they looked at each other worriedly.
"Are those the pills Doctor Tofu gave him?" Ranko asked.
"Yes, but..."
"But...?"
Akane lowered her voice to a whisper. "Well, Doctor Tofu told me that they're just placebos. They just taste like medicine, but..."
"Well...good, I suppose. I mean, I don't really want my brother becoming a pill-head anyway. Do you think that maybe a party would cheer him up?"
"I don't know, Ranko...he doesn't really seem too sociable."
"We ought to at least try it. Let's set it up for tomorrow."
* * * * *
After Akane and Ranko had left the room, Ranma quickly passed out. When he awoke, it was dark and silent. He figured he must've been more tired than he'd realized, and after taking a Hypnocil, he didn't even remember his dream.
He left his room, stepping lightly, and walked into the kitchen to get something to drink. He was about to open the refrigerator when he heard a faint screeching noise. He looked in the direction of the sound. There was a door that he'd never seen before. Slowly, Ranma approached the door and opened it, peering inside. There was a flight of stairs leading into what appeared to be a basement. Various tools and a bicycle could be seen hanging from the wall. Ranma caught sight of a shadow moving and pulled the door closed. He leaned against it with his back and listened closely. Someone was singing down there and also coming up the stairs. The singing was faint, but just loud enough for him to hear.
"One, two, Freddy's coming for you..."
Suddenly, two red-and-green-striped arms burst through the door on either side of Ranma. The hand on the arm to Ranma's right was covered by the knife-glove, and it grabbed at Ranma's shirt. Ranma pulled himself free of the hand's grip and backed away from the flailing limbs sticking out of the door.
He turned to run, but he came face to face with the burned man, who Ranma presumed was Freddy from the song. Freddy was upside down, standing on the ceiling, his face inches from Ranma's. Freddy laughed and opened his claws to strike Ranma, and Ranma fell to the floor.
"H-Holy..." Ranma began.
Freddy dropped down from the ceiling, still laughing darkly. He landed on his feet and stood before Ranma, looking down at him.
"What do you want?”
"I want you to let me in, Ranma," Freddy hissed. "I need to use you. We're going to do big things, just the two of us."
"Fuck you!"
Ranma got up quickly and threw a quick punch at Freddy's face. Freddy caught his arm and turned him around, holding him. With his left arm, Freddy held Ranma tightly in place and with his right arm, he brought the razor-claw close to Ranma's face. Ranma stopped thrashing.
"If you don't help me, I'll kill her," Freddy said. He flicked his claw and the room changed to Akane's. She was fast asleep in bed, P-Chan wrapped in her arms. "We'll kill her."
"NO!"
Ranma pulled loose of Freddy and grabbed his left arm. Freddy was surprised by this and Ranma used this time to push Freddy with all of his might toward Akane's window. Screaming, Freddy crashed through the window and landed on the ground below. Akane only stirred slightly.
Ranma panted heavily and looked at Akane. He began to approach her bed. He was at the foot of it and was reaching for her. He did not know whether he was going to wake her or not. Before his hand landed on her, Freddy's gloved hand shot up through the foot of the matress and grabbed Ranma's arm. Ranma screamed and turned around to, again, come face to face with Freddy. Freddy swiped his claws and they raked across Ranma's midsection.
"Remember what I said!"
With that, Ranma sat straight up in his bed, wide-eyed and sweating. He looked around warily, hoping he hadn't screamed aloud. He sighed heavily and felt pain in his chest. He winced and looked down. His mouth fell open and he stared at the four parallel slashes running horizontally across his chest. Blood ran, but not a whole lot; nothing he needed a hospital for.
"It's not just a dream..." Ranma whispered to himself.
* * * * *
THE NEXT DAY...
The party started quickly the next day. People began to show up in droves, bringing with them beer, sake, soda, chips, hot dogs, and briefly, Ranko was sure she smelled pot. Ryoga surprisingly got there first, followed by Kodachi Kuno, who explained that Tatewaki was resting after his "accident" the previous day. Shampoo showed up, then Mousse about a minute later. Ukyo came about five minutes before Mikado Sanzenin and Azusa Shiratori. Other people showed, even some Akane didn't know. Once the party got too big, Nabiki stood at the door accepting money from anyone else who wanted to get in. It was beginning to get dark.
All these people partying, and no Ranma. Akane looked around all over the place, but Ranma was nowhere to be found. She found herself wondering if he'd even come out of his room at all since the day before. As the party raged on around her, Akane pushed and shoved her way through crowds of people and made her way to the hallway at the top of the stairs. It was dark back there, and the partygoers had pretty much stayed out of that area of the house. Akane stopped outside Ranma's door, working up the nerve to knock. As she was about to knock, she looked down at the floor and noticed an electrical cord running from Ranma's room to somewhere else in the house. She put her ear to the door and realized that she could hear strange sounds. She turned the knob and pushed the door open.
Ranma was sitting on his bed. He had moved the TV and coffee machine into his room. He was practically on top of the TV, he was so close to the screen. Empty coffee cups were scattered all over the bed. We didn't see him grab these things, Akane thought. We were too busy preparing for the party.
"What..." she began, looking around. "Ranma, what is this?"
He did not turn to face her. "Oh, Akane. Didn't hear you come in."
"What are you doing in here, Ranma?"
"I'm just trying to survive here. Gotta stay awake."
"What about the pills Doctor Tofu gave you?"
"They're shit. They don't work. I figure, maybe the Doc thought the problem was in my head. It isn't."
Akane moved closer to the bed and sat down behind Ranma, who was at the edge of the bed on the right side. He didn't seem to notice or care. "Tell me what's wrong," she said.
Ranma chuckled a little. "Never sleep again..."
"What do you mean? Why not?"
"Freddy...he's coming for me. For you, too. But I can't let that happen. I'll stay awake forever."
He began to drink more coffee, but Akane put her hand over his, making him stop. "Please, Ranma..."
He finally looked at her. "I don't know what's happening to me."
"Whatever it is, we can get through it...together, maybe."
They sat there on the edge of the bed, staring at each other. Then they both slowly began to move towards each other until their lips touched.
* * * * *
Kuno was standing in the giant and extravegant bathroom located just outside his room. Just the bathroom was glorious, a sight never to be forgotten, but to Kuno, it was just a bathroom. The bathtub alone was the size of a small swimming pool. He stood before the sink, looking into the large, gold-rimmed mirror. He fiddled with the bandages across his face, peeling them back. There had not been much blood, and the cuts were really nothing more than scratches. Still, it had hurt a great deal, and they were a bit deep.
"Hmm...those herbs are helping much. By tomorrow, my face shall be perfect again.”
He want back to his room, feeling rather tired. He laid down on his bed and closed his eyes.
* * * * *
It had been their first real kiss, and now they were getting into it. Ranma and Akane were holding each other now. She clutched at his shoulders as he bent her backwards over his lap. His eyes went wide suddenly and without moving, he looked over at his right hand. Freddy's steel claws began to protrude from his fingertips. He quickly pulled away from Akane and she sat up, confused.
"Ranma, what...what is it?"
He didn't answer. He only looked at her for a moment and then moved toward the door. Akane called after him, but he didn't slow down or stop. Akane sat there on the edge of the bed, left wondering what was wrong.
* * * * *
Kuno had been sleeping for a while now. He was awakened instantly as he felt a hand cover his mouth. His eyes opened and he looked up in surprise as he saw Ranma standing over him. Ranma removed his hand and turned on a small lamp on the nightstand next to Kuno's bed.
"Saotome!" Kuno yelled, sitting up. "What is the meaning of this? Have you come to challenge me? How did you even get in here?"
"I need help, Kuno," Ranma said wearily.
"For what purpose?" Kuno really looked at Ranma now. He noticed the dark rings under his eyes.
"I tried to kill someone.”
"You what?”
"Only it wasn't me, see. There's something inside me. It's making me do this. It was supposed to be a dream. It happened a couple nights ago. And then it started to happen again tonight with Akane.”
"Saotome, if this is some kind of joke...”
"I'm serious, Kuno!" Ranma snapped.
"Ok, I believe you! You're having bad dreams!”
"No!”
Kuno just stared at him. He wasn't sure whether or not to believe Ranma, but he looked bad. Maybe at least some of what he was saying could be true. If so, Ranma was in more trouble than Kuno could comprehend. However, Saotome had come directly to him for help, so it would be wrong to turn him away.
"Alright, Saotome...what do you want me to do?"
Ranma began to relax. "Just watch me. If I start acting weird or dreaming weird...or if I try to leave, I don't care what you have to do to stop me, just don't let me walk out of here." He took a seat in a comfortable chair against the wall near Kuno's bed.
"Understood."
"And Kuno...whatever you do...don't fall asleep."
Kuno wasn't sure what Ranma meant by that, but he nodded and Ranma sank deeper into the chair. He fell asleep almost instantly.
* * * * *
Ranko and Akane were standing outside, amongst the partygoers. As the party continued on, Akane had explained what happened between her and Ranma. "...And he just left?"
"I don't know why he took off," Akane said. "I want to go find him, but..."
"Screw the party. I'll take care of things here...go find him.”
"Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Ranko.”
They hugged briefly and Akane turned to go back inside. She went to her room to get changed.
* * * * *
Kuno watched Ranma for a few more minutes before getting tired himself. His eyelids started to droop. He caught himself a couple of times and shook his head, trying to stay awake. At last, he realized it was almost impossible to stay awake much longer. He turned off the lamp and laid down flat.
"Good night, Saotome.”
About five seconds passed, and Ranma sat up.
"Kuno!”
Kuno bolted up in his bed. "What?”
"It's starting to happen again!”
Kuno flicked the lamp back on and saw Ranma holding his stomach, doubled over in severe pain. His right hand started shaking and he held it out in front of him. Steel blades began growing out of his fingertips.
Kuno was in a kind of shock, staring. "What..."
The skin on Ranma's right hand and arm started to split and peel away, revealing a red and green striped sweater beneath. Kuno, not taking his eyes off Ranma, backed towards the door and tried to turn the knob. It wouldn't budge. He twisted and turned it, but it was no use. He turned and began to bang as hard as he could, but it wouldn't break. He looked back over his shoulder at Ranma...only it wasn't Ranma anymore. Ranma lay dead on the floor, ripped open, as a larger, scarred, and all-around evil-looking man stood in his place. He bent down and pulled a hat out of the large hole in Ranma's chest that he had climbed out of and placed the hat on his head.
"N-No! NO! You won't take me as you did Saotome!”
Freddy chuckled and began to walk towards Kuno. Kuno saw the blades on Freddy's right hand and his eyes went wider. With his gloved hand, Freddy grabbed Kuno by the front of his shirt and turned him around. Freddy lifted Kuno and tossed him into his bedroom door, which contained a full-length mirror on it. Kuno crashed through the mirror and the door, landing in the hallway outside. He didn't move.
Ranma sat up suddenly, gasping. He looked down and felt for the hole in his chest, but in its place, there was only blood. His eyes travelled to the entrance to Kuno's bedroom, and from the angle he was at, all he could see were Kuno's bloody feet and a bunch of shattered glass. There were spots of blood on the ground nearby that Ranma could only assume was Kuno's. Ranma could hear Freddy chuckling from somewhere. Looking on the floor nearby, he saw a large piece of Kuno's mirror that had survived. In the reflection, Ranma could see Freddy Krueger standing there in his place.
"No...you killed him...I came to him for help and you killed him...”
"Are you sure?” Freddy's asked, pointing at Ranma.
Ranma looked down and saw that his right hand was covered by Freddy's glove. He yanked it off and threw it as hard as he could at the window, which shattered. Freddy laughed still as Ranma moved toward the window and made his way out.
* * * * *
Akane had just finished putting her shoes on. She was reaching for the front doorknob when it swung open and Ranma stepped through, covered in blood.
"Oh my God, Ranma, what happened?”
"I did it. It was me. I killed him.”
"What? I don't understand...”
"I just killed Kuno!”
"Ranma, no...this can't be happening!”
"It is...I'm his now.”
"Who?”
"Freddy Krueger!”
"This doesn't make sense, Ranma!”
"You have to leave, Akane, before he takes me again!”
"No, Ranma, you're stronger than that! Think of everything you've done, everything you've faced up until this point.”
"It won't help any. It's too late."
"Listen, I know you can beat whatever's doing this to you.”
* * * * *
As the party continued, some of the guests had decided to strip down to their underwear and take a relaxing dip in the koi pond. One such guest was Ukyo, and she sat with her head tilted back against the edge of the koi pond, eyes closed. Now, though, she opened her eyes and frowned, looking around as other guests played and talked and had fun.
"Hey, did it just get a little warmer in the koi pond?”
* * * * *
"Oh shit...get out of here, Akane!” Ranma practically screamed.
"It's happening again?”
"Yes! Leave!”
"NO! You have to fight it!”
"I CAN'T!”
He was leaning against the wall, holding himself up. Soon, he found himself running across the living room, and he fell over the side of the couch. Akane could not see him now, so she slowly moved closer to the couch. Ranma was grunting and making strange noises.
"Ranma...?” she asked.
An evil laugh came from behind the couch and Freddy Krueger stood up in Ranma's place. "I'm your boyfriend now!"
Akane screamed and ran for the front door as Freddy jumped over the couch and began to chase her. She tried to pull the door open but it wouldn't move. She ducked his claws just as they impacted the wall where her head had been only seconds before. She tried to run through the dining room to the back door, but Freddy chased and cornered her. He swiped his claws at her but she dodged, kicked him in the face, and used this time to jump through the glass back door, startling everyone outside and bringing the party to an abrupt halt. Ranko and Ryoga immediately rushed to help her up. She had a couple scratches on her face from the broken glass.
Akane sat up and looked around wildly. "No! Where is he?”
"Who...Ranma?” Ranko asked, trying to calm her down.
Akane looked around. Everyone was staring at her, murmuring to each other.
Ukyo had been watching Akane from the koi pond, but now she felt something moving around near her legs. She looked down at the water, trying to see if she could tell what it was. Just then, Freddy burst forth from the koi pond, jumped over the stunned Ukyo, and landed on the ground. The party guests started screaming and running for their lives. Freddy began slashing them left and right as they ran past him.
Ryoga got as many people as he could into a group and held them there as he stood in front of them, facing Freddy. Akane ran to his side, groping him.
"Don't hurt him! It's Ranma...”
"What?" Ryoga said, looking at her, then back at Freddy. "That's Ranma?”
"Don't hurt him!”
"Ok," he said, moving towards Freddy, who was standing near a grill, clicking his claws together. "Listen, Ranma...just take it easy...these people are your friends. Nobody else has to get hurt, right? I'm your friend.”
"Make friends with this, piggy!"
Freddy plunged his claws into Ryoga's shoulder and Ryoga screamed as he was thrown into the nearest tree. The impact caused him to fall to the ground, unconscious.
Freddy held his hands in the air towards the group of frightened partygoers. "You are all my children now.”
As he stood there, Freddy's voice suddenly changed to that of Ranma's. "Akane! You have to kill me!”
"I can't, I can't...” Akane said, crying.
"I love you, Akane!”
Freddy looked down at himself and roared. "NO! I can't lose him!”
Akane, a look of determination in her eyes, ran at Freddy and grabbed him with both hands as he disappeared in a flash of brilliant blue light. As the party guests recovered from the blinding brightness, they realized that Freddy was gone, and Akane with him.
* * * * *
Akane studied her surroundings quickly. They were inside a nightmare world of Nerima. Everything was much darker and more sinister-looking. Trees swayed back and forth, looking like claws reaching for something. Even the grass seemed to clutch at her ankles. She was standing in the front yard of a nightmare version of the Tendo household. From behind her, Freddy let out a dark and evil laugh, causing her to turn.
"Welcome to my world, bitch.”
He advanced upon her. She held her hands up defensively, about to use her martial arts to keep him away, but to her great surprise, and Freddy's too, it seemed, Ranma's arm exploded out of the dirt under Freddy's feet. Freddy tried to shake Ranma off as his hand closed tightly around Freddy's ankle. Freddy fell to the ground and Ranma pushed himself up out of the ground. Akane stared at his dirt-covered features. He had an expression of rage on his face the likes of which she had never seen.
"This is my dreamland, you motherFUCKER!”
Freddy looked back over his shoulder and got to his feet. Ranma had somehow become stronger in the dreamworld as Freddy was becoming stronger in the real world. Now, they stood across from each other, facing off. Akane watched as Freddy lashed out with his claws toward Ranma. Ranma stopped him with a palm to the nose, stunning him, and then he brought his foot back up behind his head and kicked Freddy again in the face. Freddy shook it off and charged at him again, roaring.
Ranma waited until he was close. Then, he spun around and backhanded Freddy hard in the chest. As Freddy was trying to recover from this, Ranma sweep kicked him and was on top of him before Freddy even knew what was what. Ranma grabbed Freddy's right hand at the wrist and guided the steel blades towards Freddy's throat. Freddy struggled and Ranma pushed with all his might, but Freddy would not give in. Seeing this, Akane let out a primal scream and ran over to them. She fell to the ground and wrapped her hands around Ranma's. Together, they pushed Freddy's knives right through his neck.
Both Ranma and Akane were thrown backwards as Freddy writhed on the ground, trying to scream in rage. The blue light that had consumed him earlier now fully enveloped him and after a few moments, it disappeared and Freddy was gone. Ranma and Akane both sat up and looked at the spot where Freddy had been, then looked at each other.
"We can go home now, Akane.”
"But how?”
Ranma looked up and Akane followed his gaze. The blue light swirled into some sort of vortex above them. He stood up and offered Akane his hand. She took it, and they stood there for a moment longer before jumping straight up into the vortex.
* * * * *
Back at the party, the guests were terrified still. It had been only mere moments since Freddy and Akane had disappeared. Some of them went to help Ryoga, others fled, and some were still in shock. Sirens could be heard rapidly approaching in the distance. Ranko looked around at the remaining guests, surveying the damage.
"My God," she whispered.
Ukyo walked up and stood next to her, also taking it all in. "Are you ok?"
"Ranma and Akane...they're both...just gone."
There was a flash of bright light over the koi pond, and only seconds later, Ranma and Akane came tumbling down into the water. They surfaced, holding each other as Ranko, Ukyo, and several others raced over to them.
* * * * *
A MONTH LATER...
Ranma Saotome sat in the back yard of the Tendo household, kneeling in front of the koi pond. Grinning to himself for some reason, he stared into the water and watched the fish swim around. Hearing footsteps behind him, he looked back to see his Akane walking towards him.
"What are you doing?” she asked.
"Just thinking about stuff. You know...”
She kneeled down next to him and held his hand. "Yeah, I know. But let's not talk about it, ok?”
"Ok."
"Oh, Ryoga's supposed to be out of the hospital today. I thought we could go meet him there?"
"Good idea. Let's go."
Akane stood and headed back towards the house. Ranma's grin came back to him as he stood up to follow her.
"Ranma..." a voice whispered.
Ranma lost his grin and turned around. The whisper had been very faint, but just loud enough for Ranma to hear. He looked down into the koi pond and saw a reflection. For a moment, he could swear he saw the reflection of Freddy Krueger in the water, waving at him, as if to say: See you later, maybe...in your nightmares. But then a fish came to the surface momentarily, causing the water to ripple and distort. The reflection was gone, but Ranma continued to stare at the water.
"Come on, Ranma," Akane called from the back door entrance.
Ranma looked at her and smiled. He walked away from the koi pond and joined Akane, closing the back door behind him. He did not see, as he closed the door, an arm, covered by red and green stripes, protruding from the surface of the koi pond, waving the blades of the knife-glove in Ranma's general direction.
THE END
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Author's Notes: I remember back when I first wrote this story. It was one of my first, and I was very eager to get it out there on the internet and have people read it. But now, looking back on it, I realized that I was a hack. I completely stole all the dialogue and the whole plot for Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge. Even though it was the first "Freddy vs. Ranma" fic most had ever seen on the web, it was still just a ripoff. That is why I went back and changed most of it. I just wasn't a good writer back then, but I hope this proves that I've improved at least a little.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed Ranma's first encounter with Freddy Krueger, because his second encounter will be even more terrifying. Be on the lookout soon for Ranma's Nightmare on Elm Street 2.
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Ranma's Nightmare on Elm Street
by Chris Vegvary
Ranma Saotome sat in the backyard of the Tendo household, kneeling in front of the koi pond. Grinning to himself for some reason, he stared into the water and watched the fish swim around. Hearing footsteps behind him, he looked back to see his sister, Ranko, walking towards him.
“What are you doing, bro?” she asked. “How come you’re out here alone?”
Ranma shrugged, turning his attention back to the swimming fish. “I don’t know. Just thinking.”
“What about?” Ranko persisted. “You’ve got this huge grin on your face.”
He hesitated for a moment before answering, wondering if his sister would make fun of him. He quickly dismissed that idea, knowing he could trust her. She was, after all, his sibling. “Well...I think I finally want to tell Akane how I feel about her. You know. See what happens.”
She smiled. “I think that’s a good idea, Ranma. Glad you decided to get it overwith. Anyway, breakfast is ready. Are you coming inside to eat?”
“Yeah...I’ll be there in a minute.”
Ranko turned and walked back toward the house. Ranma put his hands on his knees and began to stand up, but he stopped halfway through.
Something in the koi pond caught his eye and he was sure it wasn’t just a passing fish. His grin faded as he looked into the water, realizing he was not seeing his own reflection now, but that of someone completely different.
“Wha...” he began, and could say no more. The reflection he was seeing was of a badly scarred and truly horrific-looking man. He wore a dark brown fedora on his head and an old-looking red and green sweater that, because of the way this man looked, Ranma did not associate with Christmas. But the worst part was the glove. One hand was covered by a dirty old work glove that was clearly customized for use of murderous intent. The back of the glove had a steel plate attached to it that held four steel finger covers over all finger except his thumb. At the tips of the finger covers, about six inches of sharp steel blade was imbedded in each. Fingerknives, Ranma thought idly.
The reflection then proceeded to actually speak to Ranma, and Ranma clearly heard the deep, evil voice of the man he was looking at: “Kill for me...”
* * * * *
Later that night, Ranma slept uneasily. He was tossing and turning and mumbling to himself. After a few minutes, he jolted up in his bed, breathing hard, his heart racing.
Must’ve been some nightmare, he thought. I can’t even remember it.
Ranma decided that as long as he was up, he might as well get a glass of water. He got out of bed and stood up, clad in boxers and a wife-beater. He left the room quietly, so as not to awaken his father or sister, and closed the door on his way out. He headed toward the bathroom at the top of the stairs. Just before he went in, there was a sound of breaking glass from downstairs. He peered over the railing.
“Hello?”
He got no response, but he saw a shadow move.
“Kasumi? Is that you?”
Ranma slowly began to descend the staircase. All of a sudden, he began to feel nervous, as if something was watching him, luring him into some sort of trap from which even he, the greatest martial artist of all time, could not escape.
“Akane?”
No one answered him. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he glanced toward the kitchen and saw the outline of a female figure. Even though it was dark, there was just enough moonlight coming in through the windows for Ranma to see that the girl was completely naked.
“Shampoo? Is that you?”
Whoever it was, she was making small, barely noticeable sounds of desire as she started slowly towards him. She also appeared to be caressing herself. Ranma suddenly felt ashamed and looked away.
“Uh, do you need some clothes or something?” he asked, blushing, still not looking at her.
“Ranma,” the girl said softly and sensually. There was no doubt in Ranma’s mind now that it was, indeed, Akane. He looked at her, eyes wide. “Ranma, I need you...”
Ranma couldn’t help but grin a little at that, but he was suddenly terrified beyond reason. As Akane’s shape moved closer to him, her body expanded and changed. Her voice deepened considerably, changing to the voice of the scarred man Ranma had seen earlier.
“I need you to kill for me!”
Ranma almost fell backwards at that point. He blinked for a split second–and the shape was gone. Breathing heavily, he swiftly turned around to see if somehow the scarred man had gotten behind him, but there was nothing but a dark staircase. He began to relax and breathed a sigh of relief.
He turned back towards the kitchen entrance, only to see that the scarred man was less than a foot away. As Ranma gasped, the scarred man opened his clawed hand right in front of Ranma’s face, drawing a fierce sound...
Ranma woke up at that instant. He jolted up in his bed, breathing hard, his heart racing.
* * * * *
THE NEXT NIGHT...
Inside the Tendo house, Genma and Ranko were watched by someone as they slept. The man who watched them turned his gaze toward the bedroom door and started towards it. He opened it with his left hand and walked down the dark hallway. He looked around and then headed for the bottom of the stairs. At the base of the stairs, he turned right and into another dark hallway with two doors on either side of the hall and one at the end that led to the downstairs bathroom. He went to the first door, which held a white plaque that read “Kasumi”. The man opened the door and walked in and over to Kasumi's bed and watched her momentarily. He turned around and left the room, closing the door behind him. He went past Nabiki's room and headed for Akane’s room. The man opened the door and walked quickly to the side of the bed. Akane was sleeping, snuggled up with P-chan. There was a semi-loud clicking sound of metal that caused Akane to stir.
“Wake up...” the man said in that deep, evil voice.
Akane stirred a little more and put her hand to her head. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked right at him.
“What is it, Ranma?” Akane asked groggily, still half asleep.
Ranma stood there for a moment, unable to say anything.
“...Nothing,” he said gently. “Go back to sleep.”
Akane smiled briefly as she closed her eyes and lay back on her side. Ranma went to pull her covers up over her shoulders, but he flinched back. On his right hand, he was wearing the scarred man’s glove.
“What’s happening to me...?” he whispered to himself.
* * * * *
THE NEXT MORNING...
The Tendos, the Saotomes, and P-chan were gathered around the dining table, enjoying breakfast. The only person who hadn’t made an appearance that morning was Ranma.
“Hey Ranko,” Akane said, “have you seen Ranma today?”
Ranko looked up from her food. “Yeah, he didn’t look too good this morning. I think he’s sick.”
“Where is he?”
“Um...outside by the koi pond, I think.”
“I’ll go check on him.”
Akane stood up and went out the back door. She saw Ranma, his back to her, standing by the koi pond and staring out into Nerima, not really focusing on anything.
“Ranma? Is something wrong?”
For a minute, he didn’t respond. Akane began to think he didn’t hear her, when he said: “I don't know.”
“Well, um...we can talk about it...if you want.” She began to walk towards him, taking it slow.
He sighed. “I’m having some...problems.”
“What kind of problems?”
“I think they're psychological. Beyond your field of expertise, I’m sure.”
She stopped, feeling a little insulted. “I'm just trying to help, Ranma. If you don't want to tell me, fine. I'll go back inside and eat.” Akane turned around and started back inside.
Ranma gritted his teeth. “Wait!”
Akane stopped and turned back. She began to walk towards him again. Ranma also turned around to look at her, and she gasped.
“My god, Ranma, are you alright? You look terrible!”
“I've been having bad nightmares...they're getting worse each time I fall asleep.”
“Is that all? A dream is just a dream, Ranma, nothing more.”
He shook his head. “Wrong. There's this guy...this weird guy...he keeps showing up in my dreams. He keeps asking me to do something for him.”
“What?” Akane asked, not fully comprehending what Ranma was trying to say.
“He, uh...wants me to kill people.”
“Jesus, Ranma...it’s just a dream.”
“Stop saying that!” he yelled, but Akane was too stunned by what he just told her to be offended by him yelling at her. He bowed his head so he wasn’t looking at her. “Do you remember what happened really late last night?”
“No, I went to bed at around ten.”
“And I went in there at about three in the morning. I didn’t even know what I was doing until...” he almost said, until it was almost too late.
She studied his face, knowing he wasn’t making it up; he was genuinely scared, and that scared her. She had never seen him in this condition before.
“Ranma...will you please come with me to Doctor Tofu’s? I want to help you.”
Ranma sighed again, almost resisting...but in the end, he agreed.
* * * * *
Ranma sat on the table in the doctor’s office, waiting for Doctor Tofu to come out of the back room with the results of his tests. Akane sat in a chair nearby. Neither of them spoke, which made waiting a little harder. Finally, Doctor Tofu entered the room, looking down at the papers he was carrying.
“Well, so far as I can tell,” he said, looking up at Ranma, “you're extremely healthy. Although, you do look like you could use a bit of sleep.”
Ranma sighed heavily. “I think I’ve had enough sleep lately.”
Doctor Tofu nodded and looked back down at his papers. “Look, I know these nightmares may seem real, but...”
“You have no idea, Doc.”
“Alright...listen. It’s against my better judgment, but you seem really put off by these dreams, so...I’m going to prescribe something for you. It’s an experimental drug, so be extremely careful in how you use it. And please...”
“Thanks, Doc. And don’t worry, I didn’t get them from you.”
Tofu nodded again. “I’m only doing this because I want you to be healthy again, mentally.”
He reached into his pocket and produced a small bottle of pills. The label read: “HYPNOCIL – Used for suppression of dreams.” He handed the bottle to Ranma.
“Take just one before bed. Any more than that, and I can’t guarantee your safety.”
“Thank you again, Doctor Tofu,” Akane said. “We'd better get going or we'll be late for school.”
Akane and Ranma stood and prepared to walk outside.
“Actually, Akane,” Tofu said suddenly, “I would like to talk to you before you go. It’ll only take a moment.”
She hesitated and looked at Ranma. “I’ll be right out.”
Ranma nodded and went outside.
Akane turned to Tofu. “What is it, Doctor?”
* * * * *
Ranma stood outside the doctor’s office, watching the world go by. He felt better having these pills. Moments later, the door behind him opened and Akane stepped out. He glanced at her and saw that she looked a bit distant.
“Akane? What’s up?”
“Huh?” she said distractedly. “Oh, it’s nothing. Come on, let’s go to school.”
As they walked, Ranma began to feel like Akane was hiding something from him. She didn’t talk and she barely looked at him. He was about to ask her what was wrong when he felt a sharp pain, almost like a stitch in his side. He stopped. “Ugh...” was all he could muster.
Akane turned to look at him. “What's wrong?”
“I feel like...my stomach...”
Ranma doubled over in pain. Akane ran to his side, but he slowly began to stand up straight. The look in his eyes was very different than it usually was.
“Are you ok?”
After a moment, Ranma responded. “I'm fine. Come on, before we're late.”
He took off running and Akane followed quickly. They ran the rest of the way to school. At the front gate, they were confronted by Tatewaki Kuno. He began to spout forth irrelevant poetry that no one followed, and proclaimed himself the “Red Streak” of Furinkan High.
“Cut the crap, Kuno,” Ranma said insolently. “We don't have time for this today!”
“You DARE to insult Tatewaki Kuno, the ‘Red Streak,’ with your abusive language? I'll teach you a lesson you won’t soon forget, Saotome!”
Kuno rushed towards Ranma with his wooden bokken. Ranma executed a double flip over Kuno's head and landed behind him. When he landed, though, he started feeling strange again. Unfortunately, Kuno used that to his advantage and struck Ranma in the side. When Ranma hit the ground wincing in pain, as Akane watched in concern from off to the side, the events that occurred in the next few seconds seemed to go in slow motion. Ranma got up quickly and swiped his hand four inches in front of Kuno's face. When his hand flashed past Kuno's face, there were two sounds: a metal clicking sound and a quick swiping sound.
Kuno stood there for a second, a stunned look on his face. Then, four lines of blood appeared across his face and he grabbed at them, screaming. Akane rushed over to help him. She looked at Ranma.
"My god...Ranma, what--"
Ranma looked at his hand in shock. There was no blood. He didn't know how he did what he did to Kuno. Looking at Akane, he saw that she was truly scared and he did the only thing he could think of. He took off back towards the Tendo Dojo.
* * * * *
Ranma sat in his room, wondering what he'd done. There was a knock at the door and before he could answer, Akane and Ranko stepped in. Ranma didn't turn around.
"Ranma, are you ok?” Ranko asked.
"Leave,” Ranma replied flatly.
Akane held her anger. "We want to help, Ranma. Whatever it is that's wrong, we're here to help you."
"Please...just go. I'll be fine, I promise." He held up his bottle of Hypnocil and shook it slightly. "See?"
Akane and Ranko sighed heavily and left the room without another word. Out in the hallway, they looked at each other worriedly.
"Are those the pills Doctor Tofu gave him?" Ranko asked.
"Yes, but..."
"But...?"
Akane lowered her voice to a whisper. "Well, Doctor Tofu told me that they're just placebos. They just taste like medicine, but..."
"Well...good, I suppose. I mean, I don't really want my brother becoming a pill-head anyway. Do you think that maybe a party would cheer him up?"
"I don't know, Ranko...he doesn't really seem too sociable."
"We ought to at least try it. Let's set it up for tomorrow."
* * * * *
After Akane and Ranko had left the room, Ranma quickly passed out. When he awoke, it was dark and silent. He figured he must've been more tired than he'd realized, and after taking a Hypnocil, he didn't even remember his dream.
He left his room, stepping lightly, and walked into the kitchen to get something to drink. He was about to open the refrigerator when he heard a faint screeching noise. He looked in the direction of the sound. There was a door that he'd never seen before. Slowly, Ranma approached the door and opened it, peering inside. There was a flight of stairs leading into what appeared to be a basement. Various tools and a bicycle could be seen hanging from the wall. Ranma caught sight of a shadow moving and pulled the door closed. He leaned against it with his back and listened closely. Someone was singing down there and also coming up the stairs. The singing was faint, but just loud enough for him to hear.
"One, two, Freddy's coming for you..."
Suddenly, two red-and-green-striped arms burst through the door on either side of Ranma. The hand on the arm to Ranma's right was covered by the knife-glove, and it grabbed at Ranma's shirt. Ranma pulled himself free of the hand's grip and backed away from the flailing limbs sticking out of the door.
He turned to run, but he came face to face with the burned man, who Ranma presumed was Freddy from the song. Freddy was upside down, standing on the ceiling, his face inches from Ranma's. Freddy laughed and opened his claws to strike Ranma, and Ranma fell to the floor.
"H-Holy..." Ranma began.
Freddy dropped down from the ceiling, still laughing darkly. He landed on his feet and stood before Ranma, looking down at him.
"What do you want?”
"I want you to let me in, Ranma," Freddy hissed. "I need to use you. We're going to do big things, just the two of us."
"Fuck you!"
Ranma got up quickly and threw a quick punch at Freddy's face. Freddy caught his arm and turned him around, holding him. With his left arm, Freddy held Ranma tightly in place and with his right arm, he brought the razor-claw close to Ranma's face. Ranma stopped thrashing.
"If you don't help me, I'll kill her," Freddy said. He flicked his claw and the room changed to Akane's. She was fast asleep in bed, P-Chan wrapped in her arms. "We'll kill her."
"NO!"
Ranma pulled loose of Freddy and grabbed his left arm. Freddy was surprised by this and Ranma used this time to push Freddy with all of his might toward Akane's window. Screaming, Freddy crashed through the window and landed on the ground below. Akane only stirred slightly.
Ranma panted heavily and looked at Akane. He began to approach her bed. He was at the foot of it and was reaching for her. He did not know whether he was going to wake her or not. Before his hand landed on her, Freddy's gloved hand shot up through the foot of the matress and grabbed Ranma's arm. Ranma screamed and turned around to, again, come face to face with Freddy. Freddy swiped his claws and they raked across Ranma's midsection.
"Remember what I said!"
With that, Ranma sat straight up in his bed, wide-eyed and sweating. He looked around warily, hoping he hadn't screamed aloud. He sighed heavily and felt pain in his chest. He winced and looked down. His mouth fell open and he stared at the four parallel slashes running horizontally across his chest. Blood ran, but not a whole lot; nothing he needed a hospital for.
"It's not just a dream..." Ranma whispered to himself.
* * * * *
THE NEXT DAY...
The party started quickly the next day. People began to show up in droves, bringing with them beer, sake, soda, chips, hot dogs, and briefly, Ranko was sure she smelled pot. Ryoga surprisingly got there first, followed by Kodachi Kuno, who explained that Tatewaki was resting after his "accident" the previous day. Shampoo showed up, then Mousse about a minute later. Ukyo came about five minutes before Mikado Sanzenin and Azusa Shiratori. Other people showed, even some Akane didn't know. Once the party got too big, Nabiki stood at the door accepting money from anyone else who wanted to get in. It was beginning to get dark.
All these people partying, and no Ranma. Akane looked around all over the place, but Ranma was nowhere to be found. She found herself wondering if he'd even come out of his room at all since the day before. As the party raged on around her, Akane pushed and shoved her way through crowds of people and made her way to the hallway at the top of the stairs. It was dark back there, and the partygoers had pretty much stayed out of that area of the house. Akane stopped outside Ranma's door, working up the nerve to knock. As she was about to knock, she looked down at the floor and noticed an electrical cord running from Ranma's room to somewhere else in the house. She put her ear to the door and realized that she could hear strange sounds. She turned the knob and pushed the door open.
Ranma was sitting on his bed. He had moved the TV and coffee machine into his room. He was practically on top of the TV, he was so close to the screen. Empty coffee cups were scattered all over the bed. We didn't see him grab these things, Akane thought. We were too busy preparing for the party.
"What..." she began, looking around. "Ranma, what is this?"
He did not turn to face her. "Oh, Akane. Didn't hear you come in."
"What are you doing in here, Ranma?"
"I'm just trying to survive here. Gotta stay awake."
"What about the pills Doctor Tofu gave you?"
"They're shit. They don't work. I figure, maybe the Doc thought the problem was in my head. It isn't."
Akane moved closer to the bed and sat down behind Ranma, who was at the edge of the bed on the right side. He didn't seem to notice or care. "Tell me what's wrong," she said.
Ranma chuckled a little. "Never sleep again..."
"What do you mean? Why not?"
"Freddy...he's coming for me. For you, too. But I can't let that happen. I'll stay awake forever."
He began to drink more coffee, but Akane put her hand over his, making him stop. "Please, Ranma..."
He finally looked at her. "I don't know what's happening to me."
"Whatever it is, we can get through it...together, maybe."
They sat there on the edge of the bed, staring at each other. Then they both slowly began to move towards each other until their lips touched.
* * * * *
Kuno was standing in the giant and extravegant bathroom located just outside his room. Just the bathroom was glorious, a sight never to be forgotten, but to Kuno, it was just a bathroom. The bathtub alone was the size of a small swimming pool. He stood before the sink, looking into the large, gold-rimmed mirror. He fiddled with the bandages across his face, peeling them back. There had not been much blood, and the cuts were really nothing more than scratches. Still, it had hurt a great deal, and they were a bit deep.
"Hmm...those herbs are helping much. By tomorrow, my face shall be perfect again.”
He want back to his room, feeling rather tired. He laid down on his bed and closed his eyes.
* * * * *
It had been their first real kiss, and now they were getting into it. Ranma and Akane were holding each other now. She clutched at his shoulders as he bent her backwards over his lap. His eyes went wide suddenly and without moving, he looked over at his right hand. Freddy's steel claws began to protrude from his fingertips. He quickly pulled away from Akane and she sat up, confused.
"Ranma, what...what is it?"
He didn't answer. He only looked at her for a moment and then moved toward the door. Akane called after him, but he didn't slow down or stop. Akane sat there on the edge of the bed, left wondering what was wrong.
* * * * *
Kuno had been sleeping for a while now. He was awakened instantly as he felt a hand cover his mouth. His eyes opened and he looked up in surprise as he saw Ranma standing over him. Ranma removed his hand and turned on a small lamp on the nightstand next to Kuno's bed.
"Saotome!" Kuno yelled, sitting up. "What is the meaning of this? Have you come to challenge me? How did you even get in here?"
"I need help, Kuno," Ranma said wearily.
"For what purpose?" Kuno really looked at Ranma now. He noticed the dark rings under his eyes.
"I tried to kill someone.”
"You what?”
"Only it wasn't me, see. There's something inside me. It's making me do this. It was supposed to be a dream. It happened a couple nights ago. And then it started to happen again tonight with Akane.”
"Saotome, if this is some kind of joke...”
"I'm serious, Kuno!" Ranma snapped.
"Ok, I believe you! You're having bad dreams!”
"No!”
Kuno just stared at him. He wasn't sure whether or not to believe Ranma, but he looked bad. Maybe at least some of what he was saying could be true. If so, Ranma was in more trouble than Kuno could comprehend. However, Saotome had come directly to him for help, so it would be wrong to turn him away.
"Alright, Saotome...what do you want me to do?"
Ranma began to relax. "Just watch me. If I start acting weird or dreaming weird...or if I try to leave, I don't care what you have to do to stop me, just don't let me walk out of here." He took a seat in a comfortable chair against the wall near Kuno's bed.
"Understood."
"And Kuno...whatever you do...don't fall asleep."
Kuno wasn't sure what Ranma meant by that, but he nodded and Ranma sank deeper into the chair. He fell asleep almost instantly.
* * * * *
Ranko and Akane were standing outside, amongst the partygoers. As the party continued on, Akane had explained what happened between her and Ranma. "...And he just left?"
"I don't know why he took off," Akane said. "I want to go find him, but..."
"Screw the party. I'll take care of things here...go find him.”
"Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Ranko.”
They hugged briefly and Akane turned to go back inside. She went to her room to get changed.
* * * * *
Kuno watched Ranma for a few more minutes before getting tired himself. His eyelids started to droop. He caught himself a couple of times and shook his head, trying to stay awake. At last, he realized it was almost impossible to stay awake much longer. He turned off the lamp and laid down flat.
"Good night, Saotome.”
About five seconds passed, and Ranma sat up.
"Kuno!”
Kuno bolted up in his bed. "What?”
"It's starting to happen again!”
Kuno flicked the lamp back on and saw Ranma holding his stomach, doubled over in severe pain. His right hand started shaking and he held it out in front of him. Steel blades began growing out of his fingertips.
Kuno was in a kind of shock, staring. "What..."
The skin on Ranma's right hand and arm started to split and peel away, revealing a red and green striped sweater beneath. Kuno, not taking his eyes off Ranma, backed towards the door and tried to turn the knob. It wouldn't budge. He twisted and turned it, but it was no use. He turned and began to bang as hard as he could, but it wouldn't break. He looked back over his shoulder at Ranma...only it wasn't Ranma anymore. Ranma lay dead on the floor, ripped open, as a larger, scarred, and all-around evil-looking man stood in his place. He bent down and pulled a hat out of the large hole in Ranma's chest that he had climbed out of and placed the hat on his head.
"N-No! NO! You won't take me as you did Saotome!”
Freddy chuckled and began to walk towards Kuno. Kuno saw the blades on Freddy's right hand and his eyes went wider. With his gloved hand, Freddy grabbed Kuno by the front of his shirt and turned him around. Freddy lifted Kuno and tossed him into his bedroom door, which contained a full-length mirror on it. Kuno crashed through the mirror and the door, landing in the hallway outside. He didn't move.
Ranma sat up suddenly, gasping. He looked down and felt for the hole in his chest, but in its place, there was only blood. His eyes travelled to the entrance to Kuno's bedroom, and from the angle he was at, all he could see were Kuno's bloody feet and a bunch of shattered glass. There were spots of blood on the ground nearby that Ranma could only assume was Kuno's. Ranma could hear Freddy chuckling from somewhere. Looking on the floor nearby, he saw a large piece of Kuno's mirror that had survived. In the reflection, Ranma could see Freddy Krueger standing there in his place.
"No...you killed him...I came to him for help and you killed him...”
"Are you sure?” Freddy's asked, pointing at Ranma.
Ranma looked down and saw that his right hand was covered by Freddy's glove. He yanked it off and threw it as hard as he could at the window, which shattered. Freddy laughed still as Ranma moved toward the window and made his way out.
* * * * *
Akane had just finished putting her shoes on. She was reaching for the front doorknob when it swung open and Ranma stepped through, covered in blood.
"Oh my God, Ranma, what happened?”
"I did it. It was me. I killed him.”
"What? I don't understand...”
"I just killed Kuno!”
"Ranma, no...this can't be happening!”
"It is...I'm his now.”
"Who?”
"Freddy Krueger!”
"This doesn't make sense, Ranma!”
"You have to leave, Akane, before he takes me again!”
"No, Ranma, you're stronger than that! Think of everything you've done, everything you've faced up until this point.”
"It won't help any. It's too late."
"Listen, I know you can beat whatever's doing this to you.”
* * * * *
As the party continued, some of the guests had decided to strip down to their underwear and take a relaxing dip in the koi pond. One such guest was Ukyo, and she sat with her head tilted back against the edge of the koi pond, eyes closed. Now, though, she opened her eyes and frowned, looking around as other guests played and talked and had fun.
"Hey, did it just get a little warmer in the koi pond?”
* * * * *
"Oh shit...get out of here, Akane!” Ranma practically screamed.
"It's happening again?”
"Yes! Leave!”
"NO! You have to fight it!”
"I CAN'T!”
He was leaning against the wall, holding himself up. Soon, he found himself running across the living room, and he fell over the side of the couch. Akane could not see him now, so she slowly moved closer to the couch. Ranma was grunting and making strange noises.
"Ranma...?” she asked.
An evil laugh came from behind the couch and Freddy Krueger stood up in Ranma's place. "I'm your boyfriend now!"
Akane screamed and ran for the front door as Freddy jumped over the couch and began to chase her. She tried to pull the door open but it wouldn't move. She ducked his claws just as they impacted the wall where her head had been only seconds before. She tried to run through the dining room to the back door, but Freddy chased and cornered her. He swiped his claws at her but she dodged, kicked him in the face, and used this time to jump through the glass back door, startling everyone outside and bringing the party to an abrupt halt. Ranko and Ryoga immediately rushed to help her up. She had a couple scratches on her face from the broken glass.
Akane sat up and looked around wildly. "No! Where is he?”
"Who...Ranma?” Ranko asked, trying to calm her down.
Akane looked around. Everyone was staring at her, murmuring to each other.
Ukyo had been watching Akane from the koi pond, but now she felt something moving around near her legs. She looked down at the water, trying to see if she could tell what it was. Just then, Freddy burst forth from the koi pond, jumped over the stunned Ukyo, and landed on the ground. The party guests started screaming and running for their lives. Freddy began slashing them left and right as they ran past him.
Ryoga got as many people as he could into a group and held them there as he stood in front of them, facing Freddy. Akane ran to his side, groping him.
"Don't hurt him! It's Ranma...”
"What?" Ryoga said, looking at her, then back at Freddy. "That's Ranma?”
"Don't hurt him!”
"Ok," he said, moving towards Freddy, who was standing near a grill, clicking his claws together. "Listen, Ranma...just take it easy...these people are your friends. Nobody else has to get hurt, right? I'm your friend.”
"Make friends with this, piggy!"
Freddy plunged his claws into Ryoga's shoulder and Ryoga screamed as he was thrown into the nearest tree. The impact caused him to fall to the ground, unconscious.
Freddy held his hands in the air towards the group of frightened partygoers. "You are all my children now.”
As he stood there, Freddy's voice suddenly changed to that of Ranma's. "Akane! You have to kill me!”
"I can't, I can't...” Akane said, crying.
"I love you, Akane!”
Freddy looked down at himself and roared. "NO! I can't lose him!”
Akane, a look of determination in her eyes, ran at Freddy and grabbed him with both hands as he disappeared in a flash of brilliant blue light. As the party guests recovered from the blinding brightness, they realized that Freddy was gone, and Akane with him.
* * * * *
Akane studied her surroundings quickly. They were inside a nightmare world of Nerima. Everything was much darker and more sinister-looking. Trees swayed back and forth, looking like claws reaching for something. Even the grass seemed to clutch at her ankles. She was standing in the front yard of a nightmare version of the Tendo household. From behind her, Freddy let out a dark and evil laugh, causing her to turn.
"Welcome to my world, bitch.”
He advanced upon her. She held her hands up defensively, about to use her martial arts to keep him away, but to her great surprise, and Freddy's too, it seemed, Ranma's arm exploded out of the dirt under Freddy's feet. Freddy tried to shake Ranma off as his hand closed tightly around Freddy's ankle. Freddy fell to the ground and Ranma pushed himself up out of the ground. Akane stared at his dirt-covered features. He had an expression of rage on his face the likes of which she had never seen.
"This is my dreamland, you motherFUCKER!”
Freddy looked back over his shoulder and got to his feet. Ranma had somehow become stronger in the dreamworld as Freddy was becoming stronger in the real world. Now, they stood across from each other, facing off. Akane watched as Freddy lashed out with his claws toward Ranma. Ranma stopped him with a palm to the nose, stunning him, and then he brought his foot back up behind his head and kicked Freddy again in the face. Freddy shook it off and charged at him again, roaring.
Ranma waited until he was close. Then, he spun around and backhanded Freddy hard in the chest. As Freddy was trying to recover from this, Ranma sweep kicked him and was on top of him before Freddy even knew what was what. Ranma grabbed Freddy's right hand at the wrist and guided the steel blades towards Freddy's throat. Freddy struggled and Ranma pushed with all his might, but Freddy would not give in. Seeing this, Akane let out a primal scream and ran over to them. She fell to the ground and wrapped her hands around Ranma's. Together, they pushed Freddy's knives right through his neck.
Both Ranma and Akane were thrown backwards as Freddy writhed on the ground, trying to scream in rage. The blue light that had consumed him earlier now fully enveloped him and after a few moments, it disappeared and Freddy was gone. Ranma and Akane both sat up and looked at the spot where Freddy had been, then looked at each other.
"We can go home now, Akane.”
"But how?”
Ranma looked up and Akane followed his gaze. The blue light swirled into some sort of vortex above them. He stood up and offered Akane his hand. She took it, and they stood there for a moment longer before jumping straight up into the vortex.
* * * * *
Back at the party, the guests were terrified still. It had been only mere moments since Freddy and Akane had disappeared. Some of them went to help Ryoga, others fled, and some were still in shock. Sirens could be heard rapidly approaching in the distance. Ranko looked around at the remaining guests, surveying the damage.
"My God," she whispered.
Ukyo walked up and stood next to her, also taking it all in. "Are you ok?"
"Ranma and Akane...they're both...just gone."
There was a flash of bright light over the koi pond, and only seconds later, Ranma and Akane came tumbling down into the water. They surfaced, holding each other as Ranko, Ukyo, and several others raced over to them.
* * * * *
A MONTH LATER...
Ranma Saotome sat in the back yard of the Tendo household, kneeling in front of the koi pond. Grinning to himself for some reason, he stared into the water and watched the fish swim around. Hearing footsteps behind him, he looked back to see his Akane walking towards him.
"What are you doing?” she asked.
"Just thinking about stuff. You know...”
She kneeled down next to him and held his hand. "Yeah, I know. But let's not talk about it, ok?”
"Ok."
"Oh, Ryoga's supposed to be out of the hospital today. I thought we could go meet him there?"
"Good idea. Let's go."
Akane stood and headed back towards the house. Ranma's grin came back to him as he stood up to follow her.
"Ranma..." a voice whispered.
Ranma lost his grin and turned around. The whisper had been very faint, but just loud enough for Ranma to hear. He looked down into the koi pond and saw a reflection. For a moment, he could swear he saw the reflection of Freddy Krueger in the water, waving at him, as if to say: See you later, maybe...in your nightmares. But then a fish came to the surface momentarily, causing the water to ripple and distort. The reflection was gone, but Ranma continued to stare at the water.
"Come on, Ranma," Akane called from the back door entrance.
Ranma looked at her and smiled. He walked away from the koi pond and joined Akane, closing the back door behind him. He did not see, as he closed the door, an arm, covered by red and green stripes, protruding from the surface of the koi pond, waving the blades of the knife-glove in Ranma's general direction.
THE END
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Author's Notes: I remember back when I first wrote this story. It was one of my first, and I was very eager to get it out there on the internet and have people read it. But now, looking back on it, I realized that I was a hack. I completely stole all the dialogue and the whole plot for Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge. Even though it was the first "Freddy vs. Ranma" fic most had ever seen on the web, it was still just a ripoff. That is why I went back and changed most of it. I just wasn't a good writer back then, but I hope this proves that I've improved at least a little.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed Ranma's first encounter with Freddy Krueger, because his second encounter will be even more terrifying. Be on the lookout soon for Ranma's Nightmare on Elm Street 2.
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