Chapter Text
Beyond the veil of life and death, the Grim Reaper maintains the delicate balance of existence with the aid of his army of reapers. However, a monstrous force has been brought into the mortal realm, working to not only bring back their leader, but also to overturn the order of life and death itself. With the power of the Ecto Cards, the Grim Reaper has created not just one, but two teams of rangers to fend off the threat of the Cthonian Order and their army of specters. By the power of the Reaper! It’s morphin time! Power Rangers: Deck Spirits!
The Haunting of Frog Haven
Bryan Venkman took a deep breath as he entered the town of Frog Haven, his dear home town. He had lived here all his life and had recently returned from a camping trip in the nearby mountain range that was one of the main tourism draws. Another was the presence of Foxtech’s main headquarters, Foxtech being one of the most powerful companies in the field of super science, rivaled by its two competitors in the form of relative new comer [Big Shot] Industries and the original super science company Hartford Industries.
But the most noticeable tourist draw, and the one that gave the town its name, was the abundance of frogs. No one knew why, but all types of frogs and amphibians came to Frog Haven. All species of frog and toad could be found somewhere in the area around the town, and anyone who was there long enough was bound to run into breeds normally found only in zoos or the deep rainforest. Bryan knew this full well, having spent the second half of his camping trip in his tent after running into some poisonous species. But this day he felt better than new and couldn’t wait to see his beloved boyfriend again.
“Just admit it Alice, we’re lost!” Bryan looked over to see a duo of strange women standing next to a bakery delivery truck. The one who spoke was a short woman who was obviously wearing a costume off some sort of windup toy with the face of a fox. The other woman, apparently named Alice, wasn’t dressed overly strange but the way she carried herself suggested someone who saw the world in a strange way, “Baba, I think your right. We are clearly not in Red Brook anymore.”
Alice pulled out a map and started to examine it. Bryan decided to help out, walking up to them and saying, “Hey do you need directions somewhere?” Alice looked up, “Yes that would be great.” She looked up and suddenly shifted her eyes left to right, asking, “Wait, who said that?” Bryan got annoyed, he was ok with people ignoring him passively but this was ridiculous and so he responded, “Me.”
Alice and Baba screamed in fear, “Ahh! Ghost!” Baba leapt into Alice’s arms ala Scooby Doo while Alice’s eyes popped out of her head like a cartoon character, and as the duo dove into the passenger’s side, then Alices eyes screamed and hopped into the driver’s side, somehow driving away. Bryan just replied, “I’m no ghost! Why the nerve of that woman and her driving eyeballs.”
The absurdity of that statement hit him, and Bryan muttered the only logical explanation to himself, “Clearly I’m not as over that frog as I thought at first.” He walked off, while unbeknownst to him a robed figure watched him intensely. It pulled out a scroll and pointed to the name Bryan Venkman. The figure nodded and drew a scythe, following the unknowing victim of its coming.
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Even as Alice drove away (her eyes back in her head), something bad was going down in the Foxtech building. For inside this massive structure, equal to a university in size, dark and twisted deeds were going on. Quite literally under the surface was a boiling pot of unholy science, where nature was perverted, and the laws of man and god were broken in service to the all mighty dollar.
Deep under the city of Frog Haven there existed laboratories and vast machines working to sinister purposes, all connected by a vast tunnel system. This system would allow anyone who knew of it to appear anywhere in the Frog Haven streets, for which the evil potential was endless.
Overseeing it all was Tyrone Fox, the CEO of Foxtech. You wouldn’t think him evil by seeing him, for he looked the very model of a silicon valley tech mogul. He dressed much like Steve Jobs and modeled himself after Bill Gates, and if someone didn’t know better they would assume him just another tech mogul, one of many rich and powerful people driving the progress of human civilization and making big bucks off of it.
And one would be completely correct in this regard. But ultimately that was not enough for Tyrone. He wanted more, he wanted to be more than just another CEO, he wanted more than to be the next Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk. Ever since he was a child his ambition and desire for profit in all its myriad forms had outweighed his common sense and even his survival instinct.
Now in his blind quest to fill the void in his soul with money and prestige, he was about to unleash an ancient evil upon the world. As he looked out at this grand laboratory, he saw the artifact he had unearthed. He and his assistant Delilah watched as the massive drill, capped with mystic metal, specifically to break open the seals upon the artifact.
The artifact in question was a massive object that looked very similar to a tombstone. It was ancient, older than humanity’s recorded history by a few thousand years at the very least. It was covered in countless runes and sigils which glowed with mystic power. While the languages they were written in were dead, having faded into myth long before the first Mesopotamians ever created the foundations of human civilization as it is known, there presence upon a universal symbol of death and the ominous glow they emitted made there meaning all too clear.
They were meant to bind something, something the binder wanted to make sure never got out. They were prison chains and a warning to any who happened upon it. The grave was not to be disturbed.
Of course, even locating the grave was hard. Those who locked whatever was inside away really did not want it found. It took millions of dollars’ worth of equipment and manpower just to get the thing that would allow him to find it, and millions more to retrieve the artifact. Indeed, Tyrone had to take out many loans, even from not so legal sources. But with what was contained in the tombstone, he would finally be able to make his secret project a reality. And with his secret project he would leave every one of his competitors in the dust. Foxtech would be the biggest corporation ever, and none would deny he was the best.
Connected to the drill were three strange objects, the first resembled the card holding part of an automatic card shuffler. The second was a duo of sucking vacuums, which connected to the two other objects. The third was the strangest without a doubt, as it was a strange sort of tubing that connected to four robotic bodies and a strange cylindrical container the size of a pillar that glowed every color of the rainbow.
The scientists finished up there modifications and Tyrone dramatically declared, “Start the drill!” The lead scientist nodded and pulled a big lever. The drill began to turn, and wards started to flare and then burn out as they impotently attempted to keep their charges sealed. But the march of progress could not be stopped, even in the twisted and evil form of the magical drill.
Soon the last of the wards sputtered and died, with only the material of the grave itself keeping the occupants in. The material was harder than diamond and tougher than any material known to mankind, but the metal of the drill came from a miasmic giant’s blade and was powered by the leylines energy. The tombstone cracked and shattered in an explosive fashion, unleashing its contents back unto the world. The Cthonian Order was free.
A massive flurry of strange looking cards and beings that looked like the stereotypical bedsheet ghost emerged, and at the center of the unholy cyclone were four dark figures. The few figures not running for the hills or utterly paralyzed with fear would see the shapes of a hagfish, a burying beetle, a buzzard, and a hyena. Then the vacuums activated, and the ghostly vortex was sucked into either the card container or the mechanical receptacles. Most of the spectral forms entered the strange cylinder, while the four distinctive figures entered the robot bodies.
As the dark spirits entered the bodies, the metal was transformed into monstrous shapes, better fitting to the liking of the ghosts. The metal twisted and warped in color and shape, becoming powerful reflections of the four ghosts who retained their identities in there long imprisonment.
The first of the robot bodies twisted into a form reminiscent of a conquistador, with gold colored armor detailing strange symbols covering the body. While entirely metallic, certain parts distinguished the being as having armor, with some not having the golden and engraved plates. On its head was the traditional Morion worn by the Spanish conquerors, with a metallic plume mimicking a feather. At the base of the neck was a metallic ruffle that looked more like a lily pad than anything else, while its face was a hard set man’s with a goatee. In his hand was a cutlass encrusted with jewels, the appropriately named Jewel Grail Cutlass.
The second figure cut a much more brutal stance. Instead of the refined and complete armor of the first robot body, the second one had the armor of an ancient roman gladiator. The only substantive armor was on one of his shoulders and his helmet, but the metal and muscle of the body highlighted that he didn’t need it. As if to emphasize the contrast between the two, the second figures weapon was a cudgel. It was a primitive weapon for a primitive being.
The third figure was distinctly feminine in form, but that did not make her any less threatening. Of the figures, her outfit was the most modern, but that brought no ease to any of the terrified scientists who were now frozen with fear, gazing with terror at what they has unleashed. For the metallic clothing that the spirit had made for her vessel was that of a Luftwaffe officer. The robotic eyes and evil malice of a thing older than recorded history made the superficially beautiful features of the recreated Aryan beauty only that much more intimidating. Her weapon was reflective of her character, a modern thing that only showed that the cruelty of ages past was not gone but had evolved. At first glance it appeared to be a blade, but upon closer inspection it was a sword combined with a gun.
The fourth figure was not as outwardly threatening, looking for all the world like a fat old merchant in powdered wigs was merged with a Fabergé egg. Even his weapon was not one that seemed to be meant for combat, as it was a Vadra Chakra in the style of an ancient Greek coin. Essentially, it looked like fancy shield. But he stepped forward and in a robotic voice began to speak, “I am Jordraun, regent of the Cthonian Order whilst out lord Lamort Nursepar is on his holy pilgrimage into the bowels of Khyber! Now who has freed us and given us these bodies of metal and wire?”
Tyrone descended from his perch, with Delilah following close behind. Delilah crouched behind her boss, trying to stay hidden. The fact that she was a bit taller than him made this comical in the extreme. Tyrone spoke, “I am Tyrone Fox, CEO of FoxTech and the one who has freed you and generously provided those robot bodies. I would like to discuss a business arrangement with your organization, I hope to synergize our alignment of goals so as to achieve a high margin return on investment for the both of us.” Jordraun seemed to understand this perfectly, but the other order member and Delilah had to take a moment to puzzle out the string of buzzwords Tyrone had just spouted.
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Across town a very different Fox was going about their own day. Her name was Hailey Fox, and she was finishing up her shift at Der Grind Haus. She worked for her godfather Hans Fenton, who took her in ten years ago when her parents died in a car accident. Tyrone refused to, but he tried to stay in her life, however he very rarely visited.
Hailey was a recluse after the traumatic loss of her parents, but ten years of therapy had allowed her to live a semi normal life. Hans was a serious and work driven man with a rather nerdy look and a thick German accent, and he sighed as the last customer of the lunch rush left. He then said, “Hailey, remember to take out the trash.” Hailey nodded, “Right Hans.” She picked up the trash bag and walked outside.
As she threw the bag of refuse away, she saw a strange sight. There were three odd cards resting on a nearby trash can lid. Picking them up, she saw that they were very well made and rather pretty. The first had a red background with the symbol of a wyvern emblazoned on it. The second had a yellow background with a rhino emblazoned on it. The third and last of the strange cards had a blue background with a plesiosaur emblazoned on it. This card called out to Hailey in particular, and she was about to put them in her pocket and have Hans help her put up found item posters for these cards, no matter how tempting the idea of keeping the blue one for herself was, when something very strange happened.
Down the back alley came a man around her age, screaming his head off. He was a tall man with brown hair and a face one might associate with a scientist. He stopped in front of Hailey and yelled, “You gotta run! It’s after me!” Hailey instead put the man behind her and readied a combat stance, having learned a bit of martial arts to help make her feel safer about going outside. Sure a car accident took her parents, but it make her thing about the sort of thing that many people didn’t, like criminals attacking them. Then Hailey saw what was chasing the man, and she went pale.
The man was not being chased by a random criminal or thug. No, the man was being chased by what could only be the Grim Reaper. It met all the requirement, what with being a floating cloaked skeleton wielding a scythe. The personification of death spoke, and its voice was a deep and echoing thing that sounded like death itself. This was a psychic effect, one that almost never sounded the same between different beings who heard it. To Hailey it sounded like cars crashing, and to the unfortunate man hiding behind her it sounded like the slamming of coffin lids.
But what the figure said got through, even as it echoed with foreboding dread, “BRYAN VENKMAN, YOUR TIME IS UP. ANY EFFORT YOU MAKE WILL ONLY BE DELAYING THE INEVITABLE.” In utter terror, Hailey did the only thing she could, and threw the red card at the embodiment of death. The card hit true and suddenly the being sparked with mystic power, falling to the ground. Then a human face poked out of the robe and a human voice said, “Oh, that hurt! Wait, that hurt?”
The man in front of them was not particularly ugly, nor was he particularly attractive. In honesty, the only word that could describe his overall appearance was average. His grey eyes and black hair created a severe image, and he spoke harshly, “How do you have a necromantic artifact powerful enough to hurt a reaper?” Bryan piped up, “So you’re not the Reaper?”
The man looked annoyed, “I’m Crow, and I’m a reaper, not the Reaper. But I act in his name. You are dead Bryan Venkman, but that can wait. I’m taking both of you to the Dead End Lodge for questioning.” Bryan was utterly terrified, but Hailey was defiant, “And what if we don’t go?” Crow pulled out his scythe and brandished it menacingly. Hailey squeaked out, “Ok, we’ll come.”
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Crow brought them to an indistinct wall a little bit away from the alley in which they met. Turning to a brick wall Crow knocked on the side of the wall. He did the “shave and a haircut, two bits” knock with complete seriousness. In fact, for the short amount of time Hailey had known Crow, he had only been cold and serious. While she could guess that magic was responsible for that terrifying voice and undead visage he sported before she could tell that it was easy for him. He kinda acted like a corpse, all cold and dead, both physically and emotionally.
Suddenly a door manifested upon the wall, and Crow opened it, pointing to it with his scythe as he said, “Get in.” They did, and Hailey was shocked at the sight of a run-down hotel greeting them. When she pictured the afterlife, this was not even close to the image that came to mind. Then she saw a figure that she recognized from history class.
She whispered to herself, “Is that Grigori Rasputin?” Crow heard her and offhandedly said, “Yes, but since we have another person named Grigori working here, we just call him Rasputin.” Suddenly the mad monk let out a strange wail and said in a dopey voice, “Hello Dame Edna, how is your co*ckatoo?” But underlying it was a second voice, a Russian accented voice that seemed to go directly into her mind which said, (Welcome back Crow. Who are these newcomers? It is not like you to bring people here.)
Hailey could instantly tell that the second voice was the real one, and asked in confusion, “Why are you talking like that?” Rasputin replied, “Twas the pride of the peaches. I put the caviar on the toast points. So don’t jump to truck stop gravy.” (It was the result of my own hubris. As the mystical adviser of Tsar Nicholas II and close friend of the royal family, I delved in black magics seeking to make myself immortal. These magics and my own various deaths caused my soul to shatter across time and space. As such, my voice becomes unintelligible to those who are not either connected to the balance of life and death; or to those who like me have seen the mind shattering glories of the Dark Dimension. But I’m really a nice guy. I mean, Crow only feels indifference to me.) Crow interrupted him, “Yeah, enough exposition, is Grigori here? I need to talk to him.”
A deep voice with a Jamaican accent spoke, “Oh, Grigori isn’t here. May I be of assistance?” Crow’s eyes widened and he turned, bowing deeply while Rasputin nodded his head in respect. Both Bryan and Hailey gasped as they saw the Grim Reaper himself walked into the room. Despite looking every bit as intimidating as the form Crow took when he was “on duty” so to speak, the real Grim Reaper did not seem as frightening. Maybe it was his inexplicable Jamaican accent, or maybe it was the fact that he carried himself without any pomp. Maybe it was the obvious smile on his face. But she knew this being in front of her, despite being the very embodiment of death, was no threat to her.
Bryan however was very much afraid, yelling out, “The Grim Reaper!” before fleeing at a speed that would make the road runner envious. The Reaper blinked, his whole eye sockets moving in a blinking motion rather than the blue glowing parts just dimming. The only response the skeleton had was, “I go by GR, actually.”
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In Tyrone’s grand office, the businessman and the mechanical ghosts began to speak. The grand office truly deserved the title, essentially being a penthouse suite in all but name. Tyrone was not one of those bosses who just did nothing all day, he worked at least as hard as his workers. Often times he worked great amounts of unpaid overtime and found it too difficult to go home to his luxurious mansion, and so he just slept in his office.
Tyrone had learned the names of the three other generals. The conquistador looking one was named Aguan, the WW2 pilot looking one was named Luftria, and the gladiator looking one was named Fuocoro. Unlike Jordraun, the other ghosts were belligerent and not willing to listen to his business jabber.
Tyrone prided himself on FoxTech delivering high quality products at affordable prices, but no matter how good your products were there was always going to be those who did not like your company and made there dislike or even hate well known. Tyrone liked to think he handled such detractors well and was polite to the ghosts, even if they made it hard. Aguan was sad*stic, and took much pleasure in tormenting others, as he showed by tripping Delilah. Luftria was merely cold, but she had looked greedily at the secret scientist labs, indicating her great interest in what was essentially mad science.
However, Fuocoro was the hardest to deal with. He seemed to hate modernity in all its forms, and FoxTech was hypermodern. Sitting in his impressive chair, Tyrone addressed the Cthonian Order, “Now, lets discuss the dynamics of the proposed merger of our two organizations, ensuring a win-win while still considering the big picture and preventing negative growth.” Fuocoro responded by bringing his cudgel down on a nearby window, causing it to break. Tyrone’s eyes widened but he said nothing. The Order was vital to the success of his secret project, and he needed the project to work.
Fuocoro glared at Tyrone and said, “Talk normal you duplicitous merchant!” He marched up to Tyrone and said, “The sole reason I have not smote you is because you have freed us and gifted us these new bodies. But I can’t handle all this modern nonsense!” He grabbed a snow globe off of Tyrone’s desk and Tyrone gasped in fear. Fuocoro glared at it and said, “And I can not stand all of this tacky plastic rubbish!” He flung the snow globe and Tyrone flung himself after it yelling “No!” In a diving save, Tyrone caught the snow globe and upon realizing his embarrassing position he got up and said, “Sorry for my unprofessional behavior just now.” He went on to explain, “It’s just, this snow globe is a present from my brother and his wife. They died in a car accident about a decade ago, and this was the last gift they gave me.”
Jordraun looked up from examining Tyrone’s 17th century French couch and said, “Oh, I’m sorry for your loss.” Tyrone went up to him after putting the snow globe in his vault, making plans to get it to his mansion so as to not temp the sad*stic Aguan. Jordraun asked Tyrone, “Is this an original, or a replica?” Tyrone smiled and proudly said, “All my antique furniture items are originals.” Jordraun smiled and shook Tyrone’s hand, “Excellent.” He then pulled Tyrone’s arms and managed to dislocate it while growling, “If you are lying, I’ll rip your heart out.”
Jordraun let go of Tyrone’s arm and Tyrone relocated his shoulder. After that Tyrone asked, “Now, shall we get down to business?” Jordraun nodded and said, “Yes, lets.”
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Bryan ran around the delipidated hotel screaming at the top of his lungs, desperately trying to escape the embodiment of death that he was sure was hot on his heels. The facts that the embodiment of death was just confused by Bryan’s fearful reaction or that he could have run out the front door and fled much more effectively escaped him in his fear addled mind. So he ran in the maze like structure, having no true destination other than away.
Bryan’s mad dash brought him to a very high quality kitchen filled with various cooking devices and food objects, but this did not ease Bryan because about half of the objects were obviously unnatural. Next to common cooking herbs like basil, cilantro and oregano were fantastical plants like powdered mandrake root, molly, and Raskovink. Next to hanging hunks of beef and rabbits were hanging hunks of dire wolfs and wolpertingers. The racks of knifes contained ancient athames and ritually marked daggers next to pairing knives and normal spoons and forks.
In the center of the kitchen was a grand figure who seemed to be the chef. His intense focus and white chiefs outfit reminded Bryan of Gordan Ramsey. He had a serrated kitchen knife that was the size of a broadsword, and he used it to sever the head of a massive fish that could only have come from some infernal realm. The chef than noticed Bryan and yelled in a French accented voice, “Who are you? No one is to interrupt me when I am working!” He brandished his blade while repeatedly yelling, “Get out!”
Bryan ran out, fearful of the possibility that he might end up on the menu. As he ran through another few hallways before he encountered another scary being. This one looked like a Day of the Day skeleton of human size and wearing bandits attire and a big sombrero. It spoke with a Hispanic accent, “Halt intruder! You now face the law of the Dead End Lodge. Me! Calavera Bandito!” Calavera then pulled out two pistols and began to fire wildly, causing Bryan to run in a different way.
Bryan ran and ran, until he came upon a door. Unable to stop, he fully thought he would smash upon it. But instead he passed through it. Bryan was in a state of shock, he passed through. In his shock he didn’t hear the music of a game, being played by a young gothic woman. As she defeated the boss she cheered and looked up to notice Bryan. The girl muttered, “Must have forgotten to lock my door.”
Bryan didn’t really notice the girl, just muttering to himself, “I passed through a solid door. How did I pass through a solid door?” The girl answered him, “Because I didn’t lock my door. The Dead End Lodge only has wards when doors are locked. I know we’re all ghosts, but I guess its polite to not phase through doors.” Seeing Bryan’s shell shocked look she sighed, “You must have been reaped by Crow. He’s the best in the business, and my boyfriend, but he’s as cold as the depths of space.” She smiled crookedly while holding out her hand saying, “I’m game girl, and I will teach you about the whole being dead thing.”
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The four watched Bryan run before Crow said, “Ok GR, I have to ask, why are you here? It’s common for you to just drop in, but I have a feeling that its something bad.” GR frowned a bit and said, “You are correct Crow. I bear dire news my friends. The Cthonian Order is free.”
Crows eyes widened and Rasputin let out a fearful wail before saying, “I blew it, man! I lose my touch.” (that is so not good, so very not good). Crow turned to face GR head on and asked, “Are you completely sure boss?” GR nodded grimly and said, “I just came back from the Pyrite Island. The grave is gone, and I fear the wards have already been broken. We must prepare at once for them to resume there war on the Balance.” Hailey interjected at this point, “Would someone please mind explaining what is going on for the poor ignorant mortal?”
GR chuckled a bit at the semi-sarcastic tone she put on her last words and said, “Of course. The Cthonian Order is an ancient society composed primarily of Chthonians, a type of ghost that is so old that it has forgotten what it is to be alive. Whilst most of these beings are just alien, the ones that serve the order are definitely hostile. Before recorded human history, the spectral warlord Lamort Nursepar founded the order in a mad quest to destroy the Balance between life and death by awakening the Khyber Serpent, the monstrous god of demons and the bedrock of the underworld.”
Hailey nodded to indicate she understood, and GR continued “The Khyber Serpent is a winged serpent so massive that every underworld on its back. Not the heaven realms, those are in the Heavenly Heights, but pretty much anywhere you could think of when you think of an underworld or infernal realm will exist somewhere on its back or wings. It can eat galaxies in a single bite and if it were ever awoken fully than it would consume all of reality, the realms both physical and spiritual reduced to nothing but food for it.”
Seeing Hailey’s concerned look GR nodded, “Mind you, the Khyber Serpent is a benevolent being who does not want to be awoken fully. Long ago Lamort was eaten by the Serpent and the Cthonian Order was sealed away, using the Ecto Cards to reinforce the wards. But now they are free, and while originally all Ecto Cards had a connection to the Morphin Grid the long imprisonment has no doubted warped them. Corrupted Ecto Cards can create monsters known as Specters, whose actions invariably disrupt the Balance.” GR put his hands to his head, “We need to find the uncorrupted cards as soon as possible!”
Hailey realized that she might know what he was talking about. Taking out the cards she found earlier, having taken the Wyvern card from Crow when he wasn’t looking, and presenting them to GR while saying, “Are these those uncorrupted Ecto Cards?” The glowing blue bits that were GR’s eyes widened at the sight and he excitedly said, “Yes, these are the cards. I can’t believe it! It’s the beginning of the Blazing Sky Deck, the Rumbling Earth Deck, and the Primordial Ocean Deck! Where did you find them?” Hailey chirped, “Oh, I found it in an alleyway.”
GR murmured, “So that’s where they went to.” Crow heard this and rhetorically asked, “So you lost them Boss?” GR sputtered and said, “No, of course not!” He stammered for a bit and then said, “IT WAS YOUR DESTINY TO FIND THESE CARDS! CROW, HALIEY, AND BRYAN! YOU ARE MEANT TO BE THE BEARERS OF THESE CARDS, MY POWER RANGERS! YOU SHALL USE THERE MIGHT TO STOP THE CTHONIAN ORDER, PREVENT THE RETURN OF LAMORT NURSEPAR, AND PROTECT THE BALANCE!” Crow quirked an eyebrow and said, “I am not doubting that I am asking weather you lost them.” GR glared at Crow in a deadpan way and said, “Look, I’ll level with you. Most of the Ecto Cards were sealed with the Order, and the few that weren’t got lost over time. It was a long time ago.”
Bryan came back then and calmly said, “Ok, so I’m a ghost. I can only hope less scary stuff happens in the future.” GR said, “Hailey, Bryan, I am making you two honorary reapers. Crow, you’re the team leader of what I am dubbing Ecto Squad.” Crow nodded, if he had any complaints about this new arrangement he showed no sign of it. GR suddenly manifested three strange skull like devices and handed them out saying, “These are the Ecto Deck Morphers. I’ll make some spares tomorrow. With these I entrust the fate of all of reality to you three.” Bryan was shocked and asked, “Wait, what? What did I miss? What’s this about the fate of reality?”
He pointed to Crow and said, “Crow, take them to our weapon testing site in Frog Haven so you can get used to your new powers and equipment.” He then pointed to Hailey and said, “Hailey, I want you to give Bryan the lowdown on what’s going on.” Hailey nodded, and the three left as Hailey began to explain the situation to Bryan.
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In the FoxTech office Tyrone shook hands with Jordraun and said, “I belive that this is an agreeable arrangement.” Jordraun nodded, “Indeed, I look forward to working with you.” The other members of the Cthonian Order came in carrying the plinth of Pestergeists and the Ecto Cards. Aguan carried the deck while Fuocoro carried the plinth while Luftria guided it. Aguan noted, “Be careful with that Fuocoro, its very delicate.” Fuocoro ignored him and just slammed the plinth on the ground, causing a small group of the unbodied Pestergeists to escape. Startled by this Aguan accidentally flung a single Ecto Card into the air, which was blown through the open window with the Pestergeists following. Seeing this Aguan said, “I’ll go get those.” He then left, but not before taking one of the communicators that would allow the Order members to talk to each other remotely and under the radar.
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The site that GR mentioned was in fact the Frog Haven Junkyard, but the newly formed Ecto Squad did not comment on this. Crow was too stoic to complain or comment about this, while the newly deputized honorary reapers were far more focused on the fact that they were now Power Rangers, having morphed and summoned there weapons to test them out. This was a bit delayed by Hailey and Bryan both admiring there new ranger suits, emblazed with the icon of there card, with the yellow card going to Bryan and the blue card going to Hailey. Crow then said, “If you newbies are done gawking, then lets get to work.”
Soon it was obvious that while the morphing and summoning went off without a hitch, it was the testing that would be a problem. Crow was a natural at using his new ranger powers, unleashing the might of the Red Wyvern Card in the form of fireballs and teleporting in puffs of smoke, while his training with his scythe would easily transfer over to pretty much any other weapon that he would use. Sadly, Hailey and Bryan were not so competent at using there new powers.
Crow did not really hold this against them, but it was impossible for the new reapers to tell this, given his general attitude to them and to everything. Bryan had been given enhanced speed and strength, but that was still not enough to offset the fact that he could not lift his weapon, the Monoceros Hammer. This hammer was a big war hammer with a head modeled in the shape of a rhino’s head, but it was too heavy for Bryan to lift.
Hailey was not much better. Her water portals had many uses, but she had trouble aiming them correctly. Indeed, just as Bryan managed to lift his hammer he was unbalanced by the heft, managing to stumble into a water portal. The second portal opened above Hailey, leading Bryan to fall onto Hailey, leaving the two in a heap. To add insult to injury, the blow caused Hailey’s own weapon, the plesiosaur themed water gun device fittingly named the Meso Shot, to misfire and sent a damaging water bullet right at Crows rear end.
Crow yelped from the pain and turned to glare at Hailey, who could only chuckle sheepishly as she and Bryan got up, while Crow just put his hand to his helmet in a facepalm like manner. He then spoke, “You two are bad, even for beginners!” He was about to launch into a massive rant when he sensed a disturbance in the Balance, the entire world going photo negative as it showed him exactly where the disturbance would occur or was occurring so as to stop the disruption or at least minimize the damage. But his mental point of view did not shift from the junkyard, indicating to Crow that the disturbance would occur here.
Bryan looked up and shrieked a bit as he saw what was coming. Fluttering in the breeze was a corrupted Ecto Card, surrounded by what looked like the stereotypical bedsheet ghosts. Crow looked at them and said, “Those are Pestergeists, the most common form of Cthonian and lacking real power due to having no identity. As long as we stop the card from infecting an object this will be a good trial run for you two greenhorns.” As Crow said that a sudden gust of wind blew the card, a green backed card emblazoned with a mouth indicating it as the Hunger Ecto Card, into a nearby car crusher, infecting it with unnatural power. In response Crow could only say, “Well, there goes that plan.”
The creature that formed looked for all the world like a giant wind up novelty denture toy with arms and eyestalks, as well as having a tiny eye on its uvula. It spoke loudly, “I’m Devour Specter, and boy am I hungry! Pestergeists, deal with these rangers while I grab a nosh!” The Pestergeists floated near the ground and suddenly nearby pieces of scrap metal started to swirl as if caught in high winds. Each Pestergeist was surrounded by a little tornado of discarded metal, until they merged into robotic bodies. These robotic bodies were bedecked in the clothing of old school medieval jesters while having indents on there bodies reminiscent of pips like those on dice while there faces were covered in seed like masks and armed with rapiers. Aguan scrambled up a junk hill unseen by either side and saw the two sides about to clash. He decided to see how this would go, rather than just attack outright.
Hailey was confident and said, “Lets show these fools who we are! Its time for the roll call! “The Heart of the Sea, Ecto Ranger Blue!” Bryan went next, stammering the whole time, “The Earthbound Club, Ecto Ranger Yellow!” Crow went last, sounding rather bored with the whole thing, “The Skyward Spade, Ecto Ranger Red!” All three rangers yelled in unison, “By the Reaper’s light! It’s morphin time! Power Rangers Ecto Squad!” Aguan took pictures of the scene, both to inform the others and to have Tyrone build bodies for the other Pestergeists while mumbling to himself, “I knew that old bag of bones would raise a force to protect his precious Balance, but I didn’t expect to happen this fast.”
Sadly, the only audience who would appreciate the rangers heroic speech was unknown to the rangers at this point. Devour Specter was too busy eating the piles of metal and the Pestergeists were mindless, charging forward despite not having a lick of a chance against the rangers. This was quickly proven by Hailey opening a water portal right in there path, into which they charged blindly. About half of them fell in, while the other portal opened above Devour Specter. While Hailey had planned to have there bodies collide in a heap like what had happened to her and Bryan earlier, but Devour Specter merely consumed the Pestergeists in one swift swallow.
Bryan meanwhile managed to use the adrenaline and fear to actually lift his hammer to which he noted, “Hey, I’m getting the hang of this!” This was proven false as suddenly the thrusters built into the head of the Monoceros Hammer fired to life, causing Bryan to fly around the junkyard out of control, screaming in panic all the while. Fortunately, Bryan’s wild ride collided with the remaining Pestergeists, destroying them utterly.
Seeing Bryan’s state, Crow yelled to Hailey, “Make sure Bryan doesn’t interfere with my fight with this specter, you two are not ready for a full on fight.” As much as Hailey wanted to disagree with him, she knew Crow had a point. Summoning a water portal in Bryan’s flight path, he entered it just as she summoned another directly in front of the first, causing him to enter an endless loop. Or at least, until the thrusters de powered or Hailey let him out.
Crow opened his morphers mouth and closed it again, which caused it to call out in GR’s serious voice, “The King of the Sky takes wing, setting the sky ablaze.” Suddenly in Crows hands was his signature scythe, which glowed with magical power before becoming the Mortos Scythe. This scythe now had its blade extend from the jaws of a Wyvern and thrummed with the power of fire. Under his helmet Crow smirked and said, “This is going to be fun.”
He charged at the monster, flinging the scythe like a boomerang while he did so. Devour Specter spat out bricks of metal at the reaper, who expertly dodged through puffs of smoke. Then the scythe sliced him twice before returning to Crow, who heated the blade for a super damaging slash. Crow then held up his hand, generating a one shot Ecto Card showing a Hanged Man and inserting it into his Morpher which called out, “Finish it!” From his back sprouted wings of fire and he took to the skies. The Mortos Scythe became a spear and Crow charged down like a flaming meteor, colliding with the Specter head on.
In shock Hailey accidentally shifted the trajectory of her water portal loop, causing Bryan to run into the ground. As Devour Specter sparked and bemoaned, “I was almost full.” The specter then fell down and exploded, which Aguan took as his cue to leave.
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Jordraun was finishing up his phone call to an unknown party when he sensed the Specters destruction. He nodded to himself and said, “Time to do my thing.” He held his weapon, the Colossi Coin Chakram and intoned a dire incantation, “By the power of Lamort! I hereby bribe the Ferryman and give this fallen Specter another chance!” He spun in place a few times before hurling the Chakram, which seemingly collided with nothing, causing a break in reality to open up with cracks in the air that led to a place that glowed a deep purple.
Back at the junkyard Bryan and Hailey were cheering at there victory, but Crow was not so quick to celebrate, and it was not just because of his taciturn nature either. He felt like the fight was not over yet, and he was proven correct when suddenly a flying Chakram designed like an ancient coin broke out of a strange dimensional gateway and distributed four coins made of energy which landed on the fallen Specter. One coin landed on each eye, while another went into its mouth. Suddenly the Specter rose and grew to gigantic size while the strange Chakram flew like a boomerang back into the hole it made in reality, sealing the hole up behind it.
Once fully grown the Specter bellowed out, “I am indebted to you, Jordraun!” It then looked down and saw the rangers saying, “Yum-yum, Ranger Pancakes!” He attempted to step on Ecto Squad, but they dodged the attack. Crow yelled out, “Time to summon the zords!” Ecto Squad as a whole pulled out there morphers and opened the mouths then closing it, causing the eyes of the morphers to flash and massive cards of energy to manifest in the sky, each emblazoned with the symbol of their own Ecto Cards.
Crow went first this time, calling out, “Wyvern Zord!” Crow jumped into the sky as his card manifestation spawned a red and skeletal Wyvern themed zord which flew through the sky, landing in the co*ckpit. Bryan went next, calling out, “Rhino Zord!” Bryan then leap into the sky as his card manifestation unleashed a yellow and skeletal Rhino themed zord began to run in the streets, landing in the co*ckpit. Hailey went last, calling out, “Plesio Zord!” She jumped in the sky and landed in the co*ckpit of a blue and boney plesiosaur themed zord.
In unison Ecto Squad pulled out the combination card, a one shot Ecto Card emblazoned with the sign of the Three of Pentacles and inserted it into the card slot at there side. In unison they shouted, “Form the Megazord!” The Rhino and Plesio Zords both bent upwards at their necks, forming the legs. Meanwhile, the Wyvern Zord detached it’s wings and tail, those parts combining to form a scythe while the main body of the Zord became a humanoid torso with a skeletal head. It then combined with the other zords and grabbed the scythe, and the rangers all yelled out, “Ecto Squad Megazord!”
Devour Specter roared out, “You ruined by lunch, and now your going to pay!” The Specter began to fire out shrapnel at the Megazord at a rate analogous to a machine gun. However the Megazord used it’s speed to run literal circles around the beast, even cartwheeling at times The scythe slashed many times on the monster, it being unable to avoid the attacks.
Soon Crow said simply, “Its time to end this.” The rangers pulled out the finisher card and in unison inserted the three cards into the slots next to them and yelled out, “Reapers Harvest!” The scythe’s blade glowed with energy as a sideways slash was launched, finishing off the monster. As Devour Specter sparked and crackled it spoke one last time, “Guess I bit off more than I could chew!” Devour Specter then fell backwards and exploded as the Ecto Squad Megazord struck a victory pose.
Hailey cried out in victory “Exorcism complete!” As they un-summoned the zords and went back to the junkyard it was obvious that Crow was glaring at her despite his face being hidden by a helmet. It was then that the Hunger Ecto Card fluttered down, and Crow caught it. As he did so the car crusher the card infected returned to where it was infected, no worse for wear than it had been before the card’s coming.
Crow addressed the other two Rangers, “I’m going to get this Ecto Card back to GR for purification. You two can take the rest of the day off, but I want you back here tomorrow at the same time as today for more practice.” Bryan and Hailey saluted and went on there way, Bryan following Crow because Bryan knew that he would have to stay at the Dead End Lodge, while Hailey went back to Der Grind Haus, where she lived in an apartment upstairs. Hailey hoped to keep Hans ignorant of her new Ranger duties for as long as she could.
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Hans considered himself a reasonable man. He could take criticism in stride and ignore the haters while still providing excellent service. The popularity and great reviews of Der Grind Haus was proof of that. Even if there were occasional lulls as customers tried other options that sprang up, his quaint little coffee house had proven itself a constant fixture in the community. This was why his current customer rankled him so.
The irritation that Hans felt was directed not at the customer, but to himself. The customer was clearly an odd one, but Hans could deal with odd customers. The man clearly had some form of aphasia, but no matter what Hans tried he could not get a clear answer, despite both sides of the conversation clearly trying to understand each other. When Hans asked the man to write down his order, the language he wrote in was a form of archaic Cyrillic, which Hans could not read, only recognize as such.
Then the bell above the door rang out and both men turned to see Hailey enter the coffeehouse. The strange man waved to Hailey and let out a strange wail before saying, “Woodworking is the finest of doctors.” Hans could immediately tell this was a greeting and asked Hailey, “Do you know this guy?” Hailey briefly considered lying but decided against it. She sighed and said, “Yes I do Hans, and I gotta tell you what happened earlier today, because it won’t make sense if I don’t.”
Hailey told her tale and fully expected for Hans to regard her as insane, maybe even calling the funny farm to take her away. But when she finished he nodded and said, “Ok, I belive you.” Hailey was surprised and let out a confused, “Huh?” Hans nodded and said, “Well, I thought this guy was just a cosplayer with some form of speech disorder. But it makes senses if what you say is true, and I have no real reason to doubt you.”
Hailey let out a relived sigh and Hans said, “However, just because you’re a power ranger now doesn't mean you can skip out on your shifts. I expect you to work the same amount of hours as before.” Hailey chuckled with a smile because that response was just so like her god father. Saluting she said, “You can count on me boss.” Hans nodded and said, “Excellent. Now you can understand Rasputin, right?” Rasputin spoke up this time saying, “Kelsey Grammar.”
Hailey nodded and said, “Yes, in fact he just said yes to the question.” Hans took up his note pad and said, “Ok Rasputin, what was your order?” Rasputin let out a wail and said, “One Stranglefruit on the rocks, my good flibbert.” Hailey quirked an eyebrow and said, “He wants an affogato with caramel, hold the coffee.” Hans looked at Rasputin and asked, “So you want vanilla ice cream with caramel.” Rasputin nodded and said, “Salad as a rock.” Hailey noted, “That meant yes.” Hans merely shrugged and prepared the unusual order.
Author notes
Hello folks, I decided to make the first deck spirts episode because it’s October, and I wanted to get this out by Halloween. It might not happen or have happened.
Thanks to Krockman18 for letting me use his concepts and beta reading this.
Now my various notes and comments
Raskovink is a mythical herb from Slavic folklore said to be able to open any lock.
Wolpertingers are a creature from Germanic folklore best described as winged jackalopes with fangs.
Deck Spirits has a big cast, so the initial cast will be fully introduced by around episode 4
Game girl did reference Beetlejuice, namely the whole being dead thing.
Voices
GR has the voice of Grim from The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy most of the time. His dramatic voice, used by him, the morphers, and on duty reapers, is that Christopher Lee doing Discworld Death. Best of both worlds really. Of course the Christopher Lee voice has an echo effect to it.
Game Girl has the voice of Kenzi from lost girl
Rasputin’s primary voice (the one that gives the non sequiturs) is that of homsar from homestar runner. Don’t know who does the true voice of Rasputin.
Bryan Venkman is voiced by Lorenzo Music, who voiced Peter Venkman in the first two seasons of The Real Ghostbusters.
Delilah Spengler is voiced by Laura Summer, who did the voice for Jeanine in the first two seasons of The Real Ghostbusters.
Jordraun has the voice of Rez from the Gex video game series
Aguan is voiced by Mark Hamill doing the watcher from darksiders 1.
Fuocoro has the voice of Typhon from the game Fenyx Immortal
Hans is voiced and played by Tom Kenny, doing the voice he does for Hans from SpongeBob
Rasputin’s character is one of my favorite characters, joining Alice and Crazy Steve. His portrayal comes from three sources. First, his word salad speech is inspired by Homsar, though the non sequiturs will not be completely disconnected from what he is actually saying, if only so its easier to write him. And given he’s among the faves, who will at least cameo in every episode of there native series and cameo in the other series, that’s for my sake. The second inspiration is W.D. Gaster from Undertale, what with the shattering across time and space and his wisdom. The last inspiration is my own distaste for Rasputin being portrayed as a bad guy in popular media. He was a good guy and I empathize with him on a personal level.
There is a bit of a Tarot motif in this series, which you can learn more about by reading the source material made by Krockman18. However, I will say that many of the reapers are associated with the major arcana, and most of the Cthonian order is associated with inverted cards of the minor arcana suits. Two big spoiler characters are associated with the major arcana, one reversed and the other not, but given how most people don’t like spoilers I won’t elaborate. What I will say is that the reason the order is associated with reversed cards (at least in my opinion) is that typically reversed cards represent negative things.
My own additions to this motif are the finisher and combination cards, which are spontaneously generated one shot Ecto Cards. The finisher is the Hanged Man because of its association with executions, while the combination card is the Three of Pentacles due to its association with teamwork.
Jordraun’s little spell is not a literal bribing of the ferryman, given that Charon would never accept any money from the Order (Charon is an end game character technically), and the other beings known as Ferrymen do not have enough power to revive Specters and grow them. Its more metaphorical, invoking Lamort’s power as a god level being and his title of the Emperor of Life and Death (admittedly self-proclaimed) to defy the natural order of things and revive the monster. The aesthetics of the spell are references to the fact that ancient Greeks put coins on the eyes and in the mouth of the diseased, which is the bribe Jordraun is giving, as well as to reality breaking (the portal) and the association of dark shades of purple with death. Jordraun can also sense when a Specter is defeated but has left enough of a body intact to make the spell work, and the dimension the chakram travels through is able to go anywhere, though it is impossible for animate objects to travel through this unnamed place.
Crow not being first in the roll call and not giving the victory one liner is intentional, as it shows his apathy to the whole thing.
The little stinger at the end where Hans meets Rasputin and learns about the rangers was originally meant to occur in episode 2 but given my plans for the episode I deemed it not feasible. And two little side notes, the first is that Rasputin is literate in my portrayal of him, having learned how to read and write after his death. The second is that his coffee order is actually my own order when I go to a little coffee shop with my father. Stranglefruits are a reference to the SCP website, specifically Dr. Spanko.
The zords co*ckpit design is based on the ninja storm co*ckpit design.
Ok, I thinks that everything. Now it’s back to wonder force chapter 5, and thus the cycle continues.
