Chapter 2: A Nightmare on Our Street

The Hollow ran through the forest at the fastest speed it could muster. This monster, having taken the shape of a horse, was quite used to running. Its strong legs carried it great distances and helped it to catch tasty human souls many times over. But this time, they didn't seem fast enough. No matter how hard it pushed itself, the Hollow could not seem to pick up enough speed and for the first time in its existence, the monster wondered if this panic was the same as the ones its past victims felt. Tonight, for the first time in its life, the Hollow was the one fleeing from danger.

"We're you going little horsey?" The voice of its pursuer boomed through the woods. "The party's just starting!"

"Faster!" The Hollow mentally commanded its legs. "I must move faster! I must get away from this thing!"

As the Hollow continued its gallop through the forest, a ring of white light slowly emerged from the shadows before it. By the time it was close enough to realize that the ring was in fact the rotting teeth of its pursuer, the jawline housing them had already snapped shut on the Hollow, slicing its body in half. Demented and delighted laughter filled the forest as the huge mouth returned to its normal size and rejoined the disfigured head it was attached to.

"Good thing that Hollow came when it did." The man mused through a belch. "I was getting so hungry I could eat a horse! Hahahahahaha! I kill me!" He continued to laugh at his own joke as he thread deeper into the woods to find more souls to consume. Whether they were a normal human soul or one of these monsters he had come to know as Hollows didn't really matter. His powers were almost fully returned and it would only take a few more souls before he reclaimed his most precious one; his power over nightmares.

"Listen up you shitheads!" Captain of the 11th Division Kenpachi Zaraki barked at his men on an early Wednesday morning. "The Head Captain wants a patrol of at least two Shinigami from all four gates of the Seireitei to look for that Arrancar. I've volunteered the men of this Squad for the section beyond the White Road Gate."

"So the rumors are true?" One of the men asked his friend to his right. "There's really an Arrancar on the loose in Soul Society?

"That's the working theory anyway." The other man answered. "Truth is, we have no idea what this thing is or what it even looks like. All we know is that it's been going around eating humans and Hollows alike."

"That's terrifying!" A third man spoke up. "Something that eats hollows like hollows eat humans? Whatever it is, it's gotta be hella strong!"

"Shut up already!" Zaraki roared, silencing the three men immediately. Once he was sure that all the other men had gotten the message, he continued. "The patrols will be split between day and night to ensure that someone is on watch at all times. Goteitaishi and Aramaki will have the daylight shift today and the moonlight shift will go to Madarame and Ayasegawa later on tonight. Is that understood?"

A resounding "YES CAPTAIN ZARAKI!" erupted from all the men present.

"Good! Now get back to work!" Zaraki growled. The Squad 11 Captain turned and walked down the corridors of his barracks out of the room where the men resumed talking amongst themselves.

"Do you think this Arrancar is somehow linked with the Espada?"

"That can't be! They're all dead! Don't be stupid!"

"I bet the Captain will promote whoever manages to kill it."

"Tsk. Dumbasses. All of them." Zaraki croaked as he continued down the corridor.

A little girl with pink hair, the lieutenant of Squad 11 Yachiru Kusajishi, suddenly appeared and latched herself onto her Captain's left shoulder. "Why so glum Kenny?" She asked in an empathic voice. "I'd thought you'd be happy for there to be a strong opponent for you to fight."

"That's just it Yachiru," Zaraki answered. "The Head Captain said all Captains are to remain in the Seireitei and keep a close eye and ear on their subordinates. In other words, I'm not allowed to go out and hunt down this guy myself. And the more they talk about him, the stronger he sounds and the more jealous I get..." Zaraki started visibly shaking in anger, his Zanpakuto falling right out of his hands from the vibrations. Unable to contain his rage and frustrations any longer, he suddenly screamed into the sky. "IT'S NOT FAIR!"

The added tension made the first day of these patrols seem like a lifetime for many of the Shinigami. But in reality, it was just the same as any other day and like any other day it eventually ended, the Sun sinking into the west and the Moon rising to take its place, three days from its full form. It was under the light of this waxing gibbous that Ikkaku and Yumichika began their patrol and trekked into the woods, knowing that they were unlikely to find their quarry within the Rukon District.

"Hey Yumichika," Ikkaku spoke up once they were further into the woods. "What kinda powers do you think this Arrancar possesses?"

"I'm not really sure," Yumichika answered. "Most likely something hideous and unsightly. It's best we destroy as soon as possible."

"Agreed." With a curt nod, the men continued their trek into the woods. "Still. I can't help but wonder about the description of the Arrancar that Mayuri's eyewitness gave us. I mean, who ever heard of an Arrancar wearing a red and green shirt?"

Yumichika's face paled and his cheeks bulged as if he was going to throw up. "Only an Arrancar would think such a horrible color scheme would be acceptable for clothing." He said as he covered his mouth. "I repeat. Let's find this ugly monster and put him out of his misery."

"Very well." Ikkaku sighed as they kept walking. They were nearing a small clearing that would have acted as a dead end for their path if not for the harsh scream that suddenly bellowed through the woods.

"The hell was that?" Ikkaku gritted his teeth and wrapped his hand around Hozukimaru's hilt.

"I don't know but whatever it was cried out to our right," Yumichika answered while gripping his own Zanpakuto. Both men turned in the direction of the noise and prepared to flash-step toward it. Before they could do so, however, a strange shape suddenly burst through the trees, running at breakneck speed toward the Shinigami. Its white mask and hole on the back of its body resting over where its heart had once been cued them in on the fact it was a Hollow.

"A...Hollow?" Ikkaku asked, a sadistic grin appearing on his face. "I guess we get to have a little warm-up before getting to the big guy huh?" Ikkaku stepped forward and attempted to unsheathe his Zanpakuto but Yumichika stopped him with an outstretched arm. "Hey! What gives?"

"Something's wrong," Yumichika replied without taking his eyes off the Hollow. "Look more closely at it."

And Ikkaku did. It was then that he noticed that the Hollow, bearing the form of a turtle, was missing half of its shell. A mixture of blood and a strange blue light Ikkaku immediately recognized as Reishi was flowing from the open wound and vanishing into the darkness behind it as if being sucked away by something. What really brought the gravity of the situation down on both of the Shinigami, however, was what the Hollow screamed as it approached them. No. Pleaded would be a better word.

"Oh thank goodness! Shinigami! Please! You must kill me quickly!"

Neither Ikkaku nor Yumichika were able to respond at first and when the latter finally did, it was only a stupefied "what?"

"Please!" The Hollow begged. "I know that the Zanpakuto purifies the sins of my kind! I'm ready to repent! Just please save me from this monste-GGACKK!"

As the Shinigami duo watched in horror, a giant hand bearing four blades upon its fingers suddenly impaled the Hollow from behind. The horrible appendage burrowed through the body and out of the Hollow's mouth, flexing itself open and swaying as if waving to the Shinigami.

"Turtle soup!" A booming voice sounded through the woods. "It's what's for dinner!" As the voice cackled, the giant arm retracted, taking the now mangled corpse of the Hollow with it. Once again, Ikkaku and Yumichika needed a few seconds to process what had just happened but they did process it and once they had finished, they immediately gave chase.

"Did you see the hideous pattern on that arm?" Yumichika asked his friend as they sped through the woods.

"Yeah," Ikkaku replied. "No doubt about it. It's the Arrancar we've been looking for." His sadistic smile returned. "Looks like tonight will be fun after all."

A similar smile appeared on Yumichika's face. "Agreed."

Freddy licked his fingers, or more accurately his blades free of any blood or spirit energy left on them. "I'm still not really sure what these Hollows are even supposed to be." He smiled as he patted his chest. "But they sure as hell hit the spot. Huh?" Freddy wasn't sure how, but he was able to sense something. No. Two somethings approaching from behind. They felt different as well. Closer to human souls but not quite as weak. Freddy pondered how he was able to sense such things and quickly decided that it was thanks to the souls he had been gorging himself on. The thought brought a wicked smile to his face. "This should be good."

Freddy didn't have to wait long for the foreign beings to arrive. They suddenly appeared before him, swords in hand and clad in black robes that almost melted into the shadows of the forest. One was bald and the other had violet hair with strange decorations on his right eyelid, red and yellow in color respectfully. This man turned away as soon as his eyes fell on Freddy.

"Ohh..what's wrong pretty boy?" Freddy mockingly cooed. "Still scared of the bogeyman?"

"Nonsense." The man replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "I simply refuse to look at ugly things."

"Hey!" Freddy shouted, the comment stinging him more than it should. "I'll have you know I'm a real lady killer. Back home, they call me the man of their dreams." Freddy burst into laughter at his own pun while the two men watched in confusion.

"This is our Arrancar?" The bald man asked in a somewhat disappointed voice. "Some old guy who laughs at his own crummy jokes?"

"Don't underestimate him," Yumichika warned. "I can't bear to look at him for more than a few seconds at a time but I noticed his arm. Surely you noticed it too right?"

"Yeah," Ikkaku whispered. "It's the same arm that killed that Hollow over there. I wonder what that means for our weird little friend here. What kind of powers does he possess?"

"Hey, assholes!" Freddy shouted, feeling irritated by how the newcomers were ignoring him. "Are you gonna keep at it with your dick-measuring contest or can we get to the part where I eat your souls already?"

"Vulgar." Yumichika retched. "As most ugly people are."

"Sorry about that." Ikkaku smiled as he held his Zanpakuto over his shoulder and began to approach Freddy. "We were just trying to figure out how you killed that Hollow over there."

Freddy grinned and flexed his blades near his face. "Then why didn't you say so? Here. I'll show ya!" Freddy's right arm suddenly ballooned to 10 times its size and sped towards Ikkaku. Unfazed, the bald-headed Shinigami jumped up out of its way and unsheathed his Zanpakuto in midair. As he began falling toward Freddy, Ikkaku slammed the hilt of his weapon against his sheath while crying out "Grow, Hozukimaru!" At once, a bright light engulfed the weapon and it changed shape from a katana to a Kikuchi Yari.

"What the fuck?" Freddy was taken aback by this sudden display and narrowly dodged Ikkaku's strike, having to jump back and fall to the ground to get away. The fedora-clad monster quickly got back to his feet and retracted his oversized arm back to his side where it shrank back to its original size. "What's the deal with your sword? It just changed into an entirely different weapon!"

Ikkaku responded to this inquiry with a sound that Freddy couldn't tell if it was either a scoff or a chuckle, possibly both. "You mean you've been in Soul Society all this time and you haven't seen a Zanpakuto in action yet?"

"Zan...pakuto?" Freddy repeated curiously. "And just right now, you said I've been in the Soul Society. Is that the name of this place?"

"Hmmph." Yumichika scoffed as he walked to Ikkaku's side while unsheathing his own weapon. "As dimwitted as you are ugly. I don't really see what business it is of yours, especially seeing as you will die soon but I suppose even an ugly person like you deserves to know the basics."

Freddy said nothing but let out a low murmur that Ikkaku couldn't tell if it was either a growl or a purr, perhaps both.

"This place that you are currently violating with your ugliness is known as Soul Society." Yumichika continued This is what humans normally refer to as the afterlife although it's usually quite different than they imagine."

"You're telling me!" Freddy interrupted. "And since you seem to be in a talkative mood, riddle me this will ya? What's the deal with these Hollow creatures?"

Ikkaku raised an eyebrow. "You mean you don't even know what a Hollow is? Aren't you an Arrancar?"

"The fuck's an Arrancar?" Freddy asked with genuine confusion. "The name's Freddy Krueger and back where I come from, I'm a living nightmare."

"And where do you come from exactly?" Ikkaku asked.

"If you must know, I hail from Springwood, Ohio in the good ol' US of A."

Now both Shinigami's eyes grew wide. "The USA? Isn't that a country from the World of the Living?" Ikkaku asked.

"Indeed" Yumichika answered. "Now it's starting to make sense. This being isn't an Arrancar or even a Hollow! It's just a very powerful ghost! A human!"

"I'm a lot of things!" Freddy pointed his blades at Yumichika. "But human ain't one of them! I'll show ya!" Freddy outstretched his arm again at an incredible speed toward Yumichika.

"Bloom, Fuji Kujaku." Yumichika commanded in a disinterested tone. Like Ikkaku's weapon before it, Yumichika's weapon changed shape and split into four curved blades which he then used to block Freddy's attack, the blades interlocking with each other.

"Your weapon changes shape as well." Freddy groaned. "Who are you, people?"

"You're quite the greedy one." Yumichika taunted. "You haven't even waited for my answer on what Hollows are. But since you're about to die, we'll answer both questions out of courtesy. For your first question, Hollows are the souls of humans who have remained in the World of the Living too long or have been devoured by other Hollows. They were in fact, once human like you."

Freddy smirked upon hearing that." No wonder they taste so good then." He laughed as he licked his lips. Yumichika let out a disgusted grunt as Ikkaku took over the explanations.

"As for who we are," He began. "We're Shinigami. Our job is to guide souls to Soul Society and purify hollows as well as get rid of troublesome scum like you."

"Ahh! I get it now." Freddy cooed. "You assholes are like the police of this little slice of purgatory ain't ya?"

"I suppose you could say that," Yumichika answered before finally pushing back Freddy's blades, causing the former dream demon to retract them to his side once again. I believe we answered enough questions for you. Now it's time to end this."

"Let me take on him on Yumichika." Ikkaku whispered. "It's been a while since I had a good work out and I'm feeling lucky."

"Go ahead," Yumichika replied. "I'd rather not waste my energy on something so hideous."

Freddy chuckled darkly as he raised his blades to his cheek. "You really think a couple of magic swords are gonna be able to beat me?" With both hands, he made a beckoning motion toward Ikkaku. "Come on Baldy! Show me what you got!"

This seemed to strike a nerve with Ikkaku. "I'm shaved! Not bald!" He quickly calmed himself down and flash-stepped before Freddy, startling him. "And I wouldn't be so quick to diss our Zanpakuto if I were you. After all, you haven't seen them at full power yet!"

"What?"

"Split apart!" Ikkaku commanded his weapon. At once the Yari split into three sections and wrapped around Freddy's unbladed arm.

"The fuck?"

"Surprised aren't you!?" Ikkaku pulled the weapon sections back and Freddy along with them. He then delivered a punch into Freddy's face and sent the Springwood Slasher flying with a howl. "Not so tough now are ya, Krueger!?"

Freddy once again scrambled to his feet, a look of rage screwed on his face. "You fucker! You think that weapon scares me!?" I'm the fucking bogeyman!"

"Are you now?" Ikkaku teased. "Well sorry to burst your bubble but in case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly a little kid!" As he finished his sentence, the bald Shinigami launched himself into the air and pointed his weapon at Freddy as he began to descend. "It's the end for you!"

Freddy looked in awe at the man falling toward him but before long, his opened mouth closed and formed into a devious grin. "My turn." He rasped before raising both of his hands into the air. Suddenly a wall of flames formed around Freddy, lapping at Ikkaku's feet and startling the Shinigami into backing off.

"What the hell?" He growled as he resumed his battle stance. "Is he using his Zanpakuto? No that can't be it. This bastard didn't even know what a Zanpakuto was until a minute ago. Whatever this power is, it's something I've never seen before."

Yumichika said nothing as he watched the spectacle go on but the surprised look on his would tell anyone looking that he was just as confused as Ikkaku.

Both of the Shinigami's thoughts were interrupted by Freddy's mocking laughter. "What's wrong cueball? Getting a little hot for ya?"

"Cueball?" A vein popped up from Ikkaku's forehead. "I already told you I'm not bald! I'm shaven!"

"Hey! I'm not judging!" Freddy defended as he removed his hat and ran his finger blades through his burned scalp, drawing dark red blood through the gashes. "We've got the same look!" Freddy followed his statement with more harsh laughter.

"This guy is really starting to piss me off." Ikkaku hissed. "That's it! I'm through playing these games!" Ikkaku flash-stepped behind Freddy and his wall of fire. "If I maneuver Hozukimaru above the flames, I can impale this bastard and finish him off!" He thought. With his tactic in mind, Ikkaku shot his weapon up and over the flames and towards Freddy's neck. Just when it was about to hit its target, however, the charred killer suddenly caught the tip between his finger blades. He turned and grinned horribly at the stunned Ikkaku.

"Thanks for the tip." He sneered. "I could always use more firewood!" The flames surrounding Freddy suddenly latched onto Hozukimaru, charring the wooden exterior of the Zanpakuto

"No! Hozukimaru!" Ikkaku cried as he pulled his weapon back from the laughing Freddy's grasp. "Quick! Return to your sealed form!" He commanded. But Hozukimaru did not obey. Either because it was in too much pain from the fire or because it desired vengeance against Freddy, the Zanpakuto remained in its Shikai state, its golden wood blackening by the second.

"Ikkaku!" Yumichika shouted. "Go to the stream and put that fire out at once! I'll handle this ugliness."

Ikkaku groaned for he still wanted to fight but he knew that every second that Hozukimaru burned was bringing the Zanpakuto closer to destruction. With a shout of frustration and a mental promise to return to the fight as soon as Hozukimaru was out of danger, Ikkaku fled into the forest.

"Think you can get away from me piglet?" Freddy growled as he lifted up his bladed hand and prepared to stretch out toward the fleeing Ikkaku. Before he could launch it, however, a strange feather-like vine suddenly wrapped itself around his wrist, stopping his attack. "The fuck?" Freddy reached for the vine with his free hand in order to remove it but a second vine ensnared it as well. More and more vines continued to wrap around the Springwood Slasher's body parts until he was completely immobilized. "What the fuck is this now?" Freddy turned (or at least tried to turn) his head and from the corner of his eye, saw Yumichika approaching him. All of the vines restraining him were forming from the hilt of his weapon. "You..."

"You know, I'm really not having a good time tonight." Yumichika mused as he stepped closer. "Not only do I have to fight what might possibly be the ugliest opponent I've ever faced but it looks like I'll have to resort to Ruri'iro Kujaku to destroy you. I'm just glad Ikkaku left when he did."

"Ruri'iro Kujaku?" Freddy repeated. "That's not what you said the first time you released that weapon! What's going on?"

"My, my." Yumichika chirped in an almost impressed voice. "You're quite astute for such an ugly person. You are correct. The name I called out before was Fuji Kujaku, a nickname I gave to my Zanpakuto and frankly one that it's not too fond of."

"Not fond of? What the fuck are you saying? That your sword has feelings?"

"Exactly," Yumichika answered in an unflinching tone. "Zanpakuto are nothing like the swords from the World of the Living. They are quite literally an extension of the Shinigami who wields them, a part of their soul with a conscious mind of their own. My Ruri'iro Kujaku for example simply adores the color Azure but hates the color Wisteria, hence the nickname."

Not knowing much about the Japanese language, Freddy only responded with an extremely confused "What?"

Yumichika became annoyed at this and started shouting. "I call my Zanpakuto the wrong name on purpose in order to hide its true power! That's what I'm getting at!"

It was then that Freddy noticed flower buds beginning to grow from the vines and couldn't help but snicker. "Heh. I don't blame ya. I'd be embarrassed too if my true power was to grow a bunch of pretty flowers. Ha ha ha...eh?" Freddy began to feel lightheaded and weak, his legs beginning to buckle down under him. "W...What's going on...my...strength..."

"You are correct to an extent. I am ashamed of my Zanpakuto's true ability but not because of the flowers. On the contrary, they're quite fitting for one as beautiful as myself. The real reason I'm ashamed of it has to do with the Squad I'm from."

"S...Squad...?" Freddy croaked as he pushed his knees against the ground in an attempt to stay up. The buds around him were starting to bloom.

"Indeed. All Shinigami belong to one of 13 Court Guard Squads and I have the honor of belonging to Squad 11. It's a squad that celebrates close combat but scoffs at Kido-based attacks, hence why I waited until Ikkaku left in order to use my true power. Now that you've seen it, of course, I can't allow you to tell a soul so I have no choice but to drain you completely dry."

"Drain...me..." Freddy rasped, barely having the strength to even speak. All the former dream demon could do was wait helplessly as the vines stripped him of every ounce of energy he possessed. His body disintegrated as the flowers completed their blooming and Yumichika retracted them back into his hilt.

"Be honored that an ugly beast such as yourself had the privilege of being killed in such a beautiful manner." He sighed. "Now that that's over with, I guess I'll go fetch Ikkaku and we'll go make our report." Yumichika's eyes fell upon the gory pile of ash that used to be Freddy and, for some strange reason he couldn't fathom, walked up to it. It was a mess of blood and ash with Freddy's weaponize glove sitting on top. Yumichika stared at it for a while. "I suppose Captain Kurotsuchi would give us trouble if we don't bring back something for him to study. I'd really rather not touch such a filthy thing but you'll have to do. We don't need another one of those beings popping up again."

Yumichika reached for the glove, intending on having Ikkaku hold onto it once he found him. Before he could grab it, however, the glove suddenly swiped by itself, slicing his hand. Panicked, Yumichika jumped back, gripping his injured hand. "Gah!"

"Don't count your flowers before they bloom pretty boy." Freddy's voice growled through the air. As Yumichika watched, the pile began to move, slowly but surely taking back the shape of the man it once was, the glove reconnecting itself to his right arm as it ripped itself from his side. Once his vocal cords had formed, the man let out a peal of nasal laughter that caused blood to pool into his open mouth and trickle down his chin. Once his regeneration was finished, Freddy causally picked his hat up from off the ground and placed it back on his head before sneering at the horrified Yumichika.

"Im...Impossible!" Yumichika cried. "I drained you dry!"

"You sure did." Freddy agreed. "Best head I got since '64!" Freddy let out another round of guttural laughter that made Yumichika feel ill. The Shinigami tried to wrap his head around what had just happened but couldn't.

"You should be dead! No one could have survived that! How are you still alive?"

Freddy thoughtfully put his finger blades to his lips. "How indeed? Well, they say loose lips sink ships but since you and your partner over there were more than happy to spill the beans about this place, I'll return the favor. You see, I am technically a ghost but I'm nothing like the usual bunch that just bitch and moan inside of empty houses. No. I'm something much worse. The stuff nightmares are made of."

"Nightmares?" Yumichika questioned. "What are you getting at?"

"What I'm getting at pretty boy, is that I'm a Dream Demon," Freddy answered. "Before I came to this dump, I was stalking teens and little kiddies in their dreams and when I killed them in there," Freddy stopped for a moment, a giddy look on his face as if he were a child about to show his parents his latest crayon drawing. "They would die in real life!"

"Dream Demon?" Yumichika held out his Zanpakuto, unable to think straight out of fear. "Sounds like a load of crap. Bloom, Fuji Kujaku!" His weapons changed shape again and he lunged toward Freddy. "I've heard enough of this! Prepare to die!" Just as Yumichika was about to strike, however, Freddy quickly sliced his own blades through Yumichika's fingers, The stunned Shinigami watched as the fingers gripping his Zanpakuto broke apart from each other and rained down onto the grass below, the Zanpakuto joining them in the fall. His right hand now reduced to a giant stump with a single thumb, Yumichika cried out in pain, backed away, and kneeled down to the ground.

"But it's all true!" Freddy continued. "And as with you guys, being a Dream Demon gives me a lot of powers. Teleportation. Transformation. Fire conjuring. But do you want to know what my absolute favorite is?"

Yumichika growled as he looked up at the taunting demon before him, gripping his wounded hand with his good one. "W...What?"

Freddy responded by violently ramming his bladed hand into Yumichika's torso with enough force to make it come out through his back. Yumichika coughed up blood and struggled to get free but only lost more blood in the process.

"My immortality." Freddy purred. "Sticks and stones and even Zanpakutos might just break my bones. But nothing will ever kill me!" With that, Freddy ripped his hand out of Yumichika's body, the Shinigami making uttering one last grunt of pain before falling dead before Freddy's feet. The dream demon started to laugh again but it was interrupted by a familiar voice crying out from behind him.

"Yumichika!"

Freddy turned to see the bald man from before, his Zanpakuto still smoking. Behind him was a group of men in similar robes that Freddy guessed correctly was his backup. Quite a few of them cried out for Yumichika as well.

"Yumichika!"

"Who is that?"

"Did he kill Yumichika? You bastard!"

"Sorry to eat and run," Freddy said as Yumichika's Reishi began to emit from his body and into him. "But I got places to go; people to kill."

Ikkaku flash-stepped in front of Freddy, his angry glare meeting Freddy's taunting gaze. "You bastard! You'll pay for this!" He slammed the two pieces of his spear together. "Ban-

But Ikkaku never finished his battle cry. With a single swipe of his wrist, Freddy launched four gusts of air-like slashes toward Ikkaku. The first one hit his head, the second his upper body, the third his waist, and the final knocked him off his feet. Blood gushed out from the wounds like a geyser and Freddy laughed as Ikkaku fell back to the ground, his Zanpakuto breaking apart.

"Ikkaku!" One of the men cried as he flash-stepped to his side. He wrapped Ikkaku's arm around his shoulder and backed away quickly. "Are you alright!?" He asked Ikkaku but the wounded Shinigami was unconscious. As the men panicked over Ikkaku's state, Freddy looked in awe at his bladed hand.

"I didn't even mean to cause that much damage." He cooed before taking one final look at Yumichika's quickly disappearing body. "All that power from just one Shinigami eh? Heh heh heh. Looks like I got a new goal to strive for." Freddy directed his attention back toward the Shinigami group, a lot of which had their Zanpakuto pointed at Freddy. The Dream Demon responded to this with a yawn. "But I think I'll call it a night. No need to rush things after all. I have all eternity to fest on your souls!" With one final round of mocking laughter, Freddy vanished before the Shinigami in a ball of fire.

"What the?" Where'd he go?"

"Who cares? We have to get Ikkaku back to the Seireitei at once!"

"Shit! You're right!"

The men gathered Ikkaku in their arms and fled the scene. Only a few of them glanced at the moon while they sped toward the Seireitei but those that did could swear that it was grimacing.