Chapter 4: How Can I Live?

It had been four weeks since Freddy had arrived in this strange realm known to its inhabitants as Soul Society and to say he had adapted would have been a gross understatement. Only one day after eating the human souls in the villages, Freddy was strong enough to take out the monsters known as Hollows and steal their place in the food chain as the apex predator. These Hollows, which Freddy recently learned were once human themselves, were quick to realize the threat he posed to their existence and made it a point to stay away. So when four Hollows approached Freddy one night while he was resting in a tree, he was understandably confused.

"E-Excuse me." One of them, a female Freddy deduced from the sound of her voice, spoke up first. "A-Are you the being that's been eating humans and Hollows alike?"

"Indeed I am." Freddy turned to the Hollows with a sneer. "And as of yesterday, you can add Shinigami to that list too."

The Hollows gasped collectively. "Surely you're joking!" A second Hollow, a male this time, objected. "Shinigami are much harder to beat than low-level Hollows!"

"You got that right!" Freddy examined his blades and the bloodstains that had long since dried on them, giving the steel a rusted looked. "It was one hell of a fight, that's for sure. The bastard almost killed me with his Zanpakuto!" Freddy gritted his teeth in anger at the memory of almost being killed by Ruri'iro Kujaku. Once the memory of killing its user entered his mind, Freddy's expression softened and he smirked again. "But hey, you can't kill the bogeyman."

The Hollows turned to each other and began to talk amongst themselves as Freddy watched. He used this opportunity to study them more closely. From the sounds of their voices, Freddy was able to deduce that there were two males and two females in the group. One of the males looked like a blue gorilla and the other looked like an armored stork of some kind. As for the females, one resembled a wild cat with a tawny coat and the other looked like a masked ballerina with giant twin tails and one of her arms ending in a scythe-like blade.

After a few moments, the Hollows finished their discussion and turned back to Freddy. "Forgive me if I am overstepping my boundaries." The stork Hollow spoke. "But might I ask your name?"

"Fredrick Charles Krueger." Freddy tipped his hat with a chuckle. "You can just call me Freddy."

"Well, Freddy." The stork Hollowed repeated, saying the name Freddy with a hint of uncertainty in his voice as if he were trying to decide whether it was a real name or not. "We have a proposition for you."

"A proposition huh?" Freddy jumped down from the tree and faced the Hollows. "Must be something worth risking your lives for huh? After all, I eat guys like you for breakfast, literally!" Freddy slapped his knee and burst into laughter as the Hollows watched emotionlessly. Once his laughter began to die down, the ballerina Hollow spoke up.

"That's just it Freddy. We came because we want you to devour us."

Freddy's laughter stopped abruptly and he looked at the Hollow female as if she had just said he was the father of her unborn child. "Come again?"

"We Hollows live an existence of devouring." The crane hollow explained. "We eat human souls but eventually it isn't enough and we resort to cannibalism."

"Once we've eaten enough of our own." The cat Hollow explained. "We become beings known as Menos Grande and enter the final stage of our life cycle. From there, those who are strong enough can become Adjuchas or even Vasto Lorde."

"So even you Hollows have a life cycle huh?" Freddy huffed. "But I still don't see what this has to do with you guys serving yourselves up on a silver platter and an apple in your mouths."

"Mmmm...Apples." The gorilla Hollow drooled.

"The fact is we are far too weak to be anything but fodder for stronger Hollows." The ballerina hollow explained. "It's a fact we have already come to accept and when word spread that a being like you was terrorizing Soul Society, we saw a golden opportunity to become something greater than ourselves and to have some say over our fates. Freddy, we implore you, please eat us and add our essence to your power." She, along with the others, bowed before Freddy as if he were a king.

"What's with these guys?" Freddy thought. "They actually want to be eaten by me? Personally, I prefer my prey kicking and screaming. And what was all that shit about with their lifecycles? Menos Grande? Adjuchas? Vasto Lorde? What the hell do those words even mean? Kinda reminds me of what the Shinigami were calling me. What was it now?"

Once it came back to Freddy, he spoke to the Hollows once again. "Before I eat you, can you explain something to me? You see, the Shinigami that fought me the other they said they thought I was something called an Arrancar. Do you know what that is?"

The Hollows looked at each other again and then the ballerina answered. "An Arrancar is an alternate path of evolution that few hollows get to take. By removing our mask, we regain our human form and our powers are sealed in a Zanpakuto. In a way, we become the opposite of a Shinigami."

"I see." Freddy purred with interest. "And all you would have to do is remove this damn mask of yours right?"

"Oh no. It's not that simple." The ballerina argued. "We are far too weak to remove our mask on our own and the only power capable of turning low-level Hollows like us into Arrancar, the Hogyoku, has been lost. I'm afraid we can never become Arrancar." The Hollows lowered their heads as if saddened by this fact, only to quickly pick their heads back up at the sound of Freddy's laughter.

"I don't know what this Hogyoku thing is, but from the sound of it all you guys need is a little more power right." Freddy brought his gloved hand up to his face and focused his energy into it. "Luckily for you, that Shinigami I devoured helped me to restore the rest of my lost power." The Hollows watched in awe as the bladed glove was engulfed in a blood-red light, spiritual energy unlike anything they'd seen or felt before. "And I think this is the perfect chance to test it. Time for a little off the top."

Before the Hollows could react, Freddy extended his arm and swiped at them, tearing off their mask with virtually no effort. Shadows engulfed the four Hollows as they roared in pain. These shadows then imploded, sending Freddy back several feet as they disappeared into the air. Once they were gone, Freddy cautiously approached the space where the Hollows once stood and his eyes widened in shock as shaken nude humans emerged in their stead.

Well, they mostly resembled humans anyway. The feline Hollow had become a brown-haired girl with a gaping hole where her navel should have been. Despite having ripped the mask off of her previous form, Freddy was quick to notice the smaller mask replacing it, only big enough to cover her eyes. The others had similar holes on their bodies and strange accessories on their heads that Freddy realized were the remnants of their mask. The gorilla Hollow had become a muscular man with a hole in his chest and a head protector that looked somewhat like a football helmet. The stork Hollow had turned into a lean man with jet-black hair, his hole in his throat, and a strange decoration on the bridge of his nose. The ballerina Hollow was now a woman with pink hair and a crown between her twin tails. Her hole replaced her right eye and her single blue eye slowly opened and looked about as did the others, first at each other and then at themselves.

"Are...Are we Arrancar?" The black-haired man asked.

"We are!" The brown-haired girl shouted. "We've regained a human form!"

"Dammit." The muscular man grunted. "You messed up my sexy good looks!"

The ballerina said nothing at first but instead got to her feet and approached Freddy, gripping her now normal arm. "How did you do this?" She finally asked with a hint of fear in her voice. "How did you remove our mask so easily?"

"It might be a little hard for someone like you to understand," Freddy replied. "But I'm not from around here. I come from the Dream Realm and there, I am God."

"The Dream Realm?" The Hollow repeated in awe.

"Yep! And you know something? It ain't all that different from this place. They're both dimensions strictly for souls only and because of that, my powers work the same here as they do in the Dream Realm. Now that I've eaten enough souls to get my full powers back, this whole realm is my new playground!"

"But why do this for us?" The black-haired man asked as he and the other Hollows joined the ballerina's side. "Why do this for low-level trash such as us?"

"Why indeed." Freddy tapped one of his finger blades to his chin, drawing a little bit of blood in the process. "Maybe I was impressed by your willingness to give up your souls so easily or maybe I was just taking pity on you poor fuckers. Regardless, there's one thing I can say for certain. Now that I'm at full power, I plan to take over this place and then some and while I'm used to working solo, I figured that it couldn't hurt to have someone who knows their way around this dump"

"What are you saying?" The brown-haired girl asked.

"I'm saying I've deemed you assholes worthy of being my new posse! Together, we'll take down the 13 Court Guard Squads and anyone else who gets in our way. You say you aren't strong enough to be at the top? Well, I'll be your first-class ticket there! What do you say?"

The newborn Arrancar stared at Freddy as they processed what he had just proposed. One by one, they grinned happily and bowed before him.

"Oh thank you!" The ballerina Arrancar cried. "Thank you, Freddy!"

"We will never forget this!" The black-haired man added. "As long as we live, we will serve you even at the cost of our very lives!"

The muscular man and brown-haired girl nodded in agreement. "That's right!" She said. "From now on, We are at your command! What would you have us do first?"

Freddy grinned as widely as he possibly could. "To think I'd find some lackeys of all things in this realm and ones willing to die for me to boot." He thought gleefully. "This place really is my personal paradise and soon it'll be my kingdom."

He reached out his hand and gently placed it on the ballerina Arrancar's head, causing her to blush slightly.

"I think the first order of business should be learning as much as possible." Freddy cooed. "So why don't you start by telling me everything there is to know about Hollows?"

"This Captain's meeting is now in session!" Genryusai bellowed. The other 12 Captains stood in their usual places in the meeting hall but all eyes were fixed on the newcomer. The violet-haired woman was no stranger to the Captains of course, but her presence here was strange nonetheless. The only exceptions to the stares were Captain Soifon who stood by her former mentor's side and Captain Hirako who was preoccupied with cleaning out his right ear.

"I'm sure you've all noticed Former Captain of the Stealth Force Yoruichi Shihouin in our midst." Genryusai continued

Yoruichi greeted everyone with a smile and wink. No one responded aside from Byakuya whose eyes narrowed at the sight of her.

"As we discussed at yesterday's meeting, Captain Soifon and Yoruichi will be taking charge of the search for the menace now known as Freddy Krueger." Genryusai continued. The Stealth Force will be split up between the two of them and survey the areas North and South of the Seireitei." The turned his head toward the two Shinigami women. "Once either of your teams finds Freddy, you are given permission to eliminate him at once."

"Now wait just a damn minute!" Mayuri growled. "I thought I made myself perfectly clear that this Freddy Krueger is to be kept alive and brought to the Department of Research and Development! There has never been a being like him in all of Soul Society's recorded history and there may very well never be one again. We cannot waste this opportunity!"

"Fuck that!" Zaraki butted in. "Squad 11 should be in charge of finding this bastard, not the Stealth Force! He killed one of our own!"

"Oh boo hoo! The barbarian is upset because one of his sparring partners is dead!" Mayuri mocked. "Whatever shall we do?"

"You wanna die?" Zaraki unsheathed his Zanpakuto. "Because I'd be happy to use ya as a warm-up!"

"Enough!" Genryusai bellowed with a slam of his cane so strong it shook the entire room. The Captains of Squad 11 and 12 quickly fell silent and back in place. Once the Head Captain was certain that there would be no more discord in the meeting hall, he continued.

"Captain Zaraki, I understand how frustrating it must feel to lose one of your most faithful subordinates. But such is the life of a Shinigami and you and your squad know this very well."

Zaraki said nothing but lowered his head with a grunt.

"As for you Captain Kurotsuchi," He turned to face the Squad 12 Captain. "Even you must understand that some things are more important than scientific progress."

"Nonsense!" Mayuri hissed under his breath. "Absolute nonsense."

"The fact is, we must deal with this threat as fast as possible and this makes the Stealth Force the perfect Squad for the job." He turned back to Soifon and Yoruichi. "We are counting on you. Find Freddy Krueger and destroy him."

After the meeting, Soifon and Yoruichi made haste to return to the Squad 2 barracks and divided the best men and women amongst themselves. The rest were to remain in the barracks under the watch of Marechiyo until the women returned, hopefully with the confirmation of Freddy Krueger's demise. This is what Soifon was hoping for as she sat inside her room staring out the window. "That monster isn't a Hollow or even an Arrancar. Where could he have possibly come from?" Soifon shook her head. "It doesn't matter. All that matters is destroying him once and for all!"

Soifon's mental monologue was interrupted by a rapping on her door and her former mentor's voice asking "Soifon? Are you there? Can I come in?"

"Oh! Uh! Y-Yes Lady Yoruichi! You may enter." Soifon answered. Yoruichi entered the room and closed the door behind her. There was an awkward moment of silence between the two women until Yoruichi finally broke it.

"So...it's been a while, hasn't it? Working on a mission together I mean."

"Y-Yes it has!" Soifon stammered. "Too long!"

"Too long?" Yoruichi formed one of her signature cat-like smirks.

Soifon blushed and waved her arms around madly. "I didn't mean too long. Just...you know...it's been a long time and that could seem too long to some people but not me...and...oh geez..."

Yoruichi couldn't help but chuckle at how flustered her former apprentice was getting and gently approached her to wrap her in a hug. This seemed to calm her down a little. "Never thought I'd hear you of all people say "Oh geez."

"Lady Yoruichi." Soifon whined, growing just a little tired of this teasing.

"But you do have a point."

Soifon looked up to her mentor with wide eyes.

"It really has been too long since we've worked together on a mission and even longer since we simply relaxed together." Yoruichi stared forward as if she were lost in thought. Finally, she looked back at her apprentice and smiled. "Say Soifon. Have you ever been to a sushi restaurant?"

"A restaurant...for sushi?" Soifon repeated in a confused tone.

Yoruichi nodded sharply. "You wouldn't believe the kinds of tasty things humans can make with raw fish! How about after this mission is all said and done, we go out for some? It'll be my treat."

Soifon's eyes seemed to sparkle at the idea of spending time with her former mentor in the World of the Living. They haven't done so since the trip to the beach. With a small but warm smile on her lips, she nodded. "Very well Lady Yoruichi!"

"Good! Now let's get going. Everyone's waiting for us."

"Right."

The two women left the room just as the sun dipped into the east, bathing the interior in a pinkish light.

"Huh!?" The brown-haired Arrancar gasped as she sat in a tree. The other Arrancar as well as Freddy were idling underneath the tree and turned their attention to her.

"What's wrong Subayai?" He asked.

"Shinigami!" Subayai squeaked. "There are lots of them coming this way."

"Ahh! So they've sent the cavalry, have they?" Freddy chuckled. "Men, time to man your battle stations!"

"Just say the word and I will eliminate them myself." The black-haired Arrancar offered, now sporting a white kimono with a black flower design on it.

"Yeah! I'll crush them good!" The muscular man wearing a sleeveless shirt and pants shouted. "I'll crush them all good!"

"Who will go first?" The ballerina Arrancar wearing a dress with a wide hem and mismatched stockings asked. "Shall it be me?"

"No!" Subayai interrupted. "I sensed them first so I should go on the offensive! After all, I'm much faster than all of you!"

"Why you!" The ballerina as well as the other two Arrancar protested but were silenced by a wave of Freddy's hand.

"Enough! All of you!" He demanded. "They'll be plenty of Shinigami for you all to kill! But we need to do this right. Besides," He turned to Subayai with a grin. "I'm dying to see one of these Resurreccions you guys keep talking about."

"You mean it!?" Subayai asked excitedly. After Freddy responded with a nod, she jumped for joy a few times before unsheathing her Zanpakuto from the hem of her small dress. "Chase 'em down, Shomei Chita!"

"This world keeps getting more and more interesting." Freddy mused as he and the other Arrancar watched Subayai transform.

"Any sign of the target?" Soifon asked through the Denreishinki.

"I'm afraid not quite but one of the men just detected a strange spiritual pressure not far from here," Yoruichi explained. "We're on our way to investigate."

"Do you need any backup?" Soifon offered.

"Not right now but I'll let you know if the situation changes. Over." Yoruichi disconnected the call and placed the Denreishinki back in her pocket. She and her men continued to approach the strange spiritual pressure. It wasn't like anything Yoruichi had felt before. It somewhat felt akin to the spiritual pressure of a Hollow but at the same time felt human.

"A human soul that's become strong enough to slay Shinigami." Yoruichi thought. "What would such a being even look like?"

The Flash Goddess got her answer when she and her men fell upon a strange-looking man standing by himself in the woods as if he were waiting for them. His skin was charred and ragged and the components of his outfit almost seem to clash with each other. Once she got a look at the weapons resting on his right hand, however, Yoruichi was certain that they had found the target. "Everyone stand back!" She demanded. As her men waited in the trees for her next order, Yoruichi jumped down in front of the man to confront him herself.

He cooed as his beady blue eyes took in Yoruichi's appearance. "How sweet!" He murmured. "Dark meat!"

Yoruichi met his gaze with an undaunted smirk of her own. "So you're the Freddy Krueger we've been having trouble with these past few days? Hate to break it to ya but Christmas is still 9 months away." As she said this, she pointed to his filthy red and green sweater. Freddy looked down at it for a few moments before bringing his head up again with a sneer.

"What can I say?" He finally spoke with his hands over his shoulders in a shrugging manner. "I have a passion for fashion."

"Could have fooled me."

Freddy's eyes narrowed and his smile lowered at her reply. "You have quite the mouth, don't ya bitch?"

Yoruichi's face followed suit. "Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

"I've done a lot of things with this mouth but that ain't one of them!" Freddy lolled his tongue playfully, causing Yoruichi to cringe a little.

"Sorry to tell you this," Yoruichi continued "but we're under orders to destroy you on sight. Don't even think of fleeing either. We're the Stealth Force and we have you surrounded."

Yoruichi wasn't sure how she expected Freddy to react to the threat but bursting into laughter definitely wasn't it." "Hey! What's so funny?" She asked.

"So you think you have me trapped like a rat do ya bitch?" Freddy wiped a tear from his eye. "Sorry to burst your bubble but I'm not exactly alone either."

"What?"

Before Yoruichi could interrogate Freddy further, her attention was seized by the sound of one of her men screaming in agony. She looked up to the trees just as his lifeless body fell from the branches and crumpled against the forest floor. It was hard to see in the shadows of the trees but Yoruichi was able to spot bright red blood leaking out from his neck.

Another scream, this time of a female squad member, forced Yoruichi to turn around. The woman's back had been sliced open and she fell dead just the same as her male comrade did.

"Move!" Yoruichi shouted. " We're under attack!"

The Stealth Force Shinigami scattered at once. One of them, a man, was suddenly sliced across the stomach in midair and fell. One of his intestines became tangled on the branch of a nearby tree and as Yoruichi watched in horror, the man found himself suspended several feet off the ground by his own offal. He stayed alive long enough to scream in pain and terror and to feebly reach for the branch his intestines hung from before going limp.

Freddy watched the scene unfold as well and the sight caused him to erupt into another bought of cruel laughter.

"I gotta give it to your men." Freddy sneered at Yoruichi. "They sure know how to hang in there!"

Yoruichi winced again, not sure if she was more disgusted by Freddy's enjoyment of her subordinate's demise or the awfulness of the pun he had the audacity to make about it. She wasn't given much time to decide this as another scream filled the air. Then another and another. One by one her men and women were being cut down by something she could not see.

"How are you doing this?" She finally shouted at Freddy. "What kind of power is this?"

Freddy snickered. "The power of teamwork. Didn't I already tell you? I ain't alone in this." With that, Freddy snapped his fingers and a figure suddenly appeared kneeling at his feet. At first, the newcomer was concealed within the shadows of the forest but as she stood up alongside her master, the moonlight revealed a female Arrancar with cat-like ears, a spiny tail, and claws growing from her fingertips and toes.

"An Arrancar?" Yoruichi gasped.

"The name is Subayai." The young Arrancar introduced herself with a bow. "I and my comrades are Mr. Freddy's acolytes. We live for him and die for him." Freddy couldn't help but crack a smug smile at the Arrancar's declaration of devotion.

Yoruichi, on the other hand, simply replied with a scoff. "I see." She turned her gaze upon Freddy. "You know, it's not uncommon for weaker Hollows to align themselves to stronger ones in order to stay alive. Maybe you're not so removed from the Hollows after all."

Freddy snickered again. "Oh yeah? Well, how many Hollows can turn their subordinates into Arrancar?" He placed his gloved hand on Subayai's head and the Arrancar purred as she rubbed her scalp against his palm. "I'm not sure how things are done in Soul Society but where I come from, it's considered rude to not give out your name when someone gives you theirs."

"Yoruichi." The Flash Goddess replied. "Yoruichi Shihouin."

"Well Subayai." Freddy grinned. "Let's show Ms. Shihouin over there what you can do."

"With pleasure." Subayai suddenly vanished from sight and Yoruichi quickly jumped into the trees in response as Freddy laughed. Once she was hidden within the leaves, Yoruichi quickly scanned the area and noticed that a few of her men were still alive and hiding. Some of them were visibly wounded.

"I would hate to bring Soifon into this and I know she might even get angry with me for being soft on her men." Yoruichi thought as she pulled out her Denreishinki. "But I have to at least try to limit the casualties and the fact is we've underestimated the enemy. She switch the Denreishiniki on and quickly lowered the volume. After a few seconds, Soifon picked up.

"Lady Yoruichi! What's wrong?"

"Listen Soifon!" Yoruichi began. "We found the enemy but he's not alone. He has a group of Arrancar backing him up."

"What!? How many?"

"I don't know for sure but I'm engaging one of them in battle right now. A dozen or so of my men are already dead. We need backup as quickly as possible!"

"Of course Lady Yoruichi! I'll be-

The Denreishiniki in Yoruichi's hands suddenly exploded, the same weapon that sliced it in half having also drawn blood from her fingers. The Flash Goddess quickly jumped into the branches of the next tree and placed her hand over her ear. It was bleeding profusely and was filled with a horrid ringing that Yoruichi was sure wouldn't be going away anytime soon. "Dammit!" She cursed under her breath. "I should have put more distance between me and the enemy before calling for backup. But at least Soifon's on her way, now all I have to do is survive until then."

"Easier said than done." Subayai's voice whispered coyly in Yoruichi's ear. The Flash Goddess quickly retreated deeper into the woods and continued to flee.

"How did she do that?" Yoruichi thought fretfully. "There's no way she could have snuck up on me like that the second time around."

"Going somewhere?" Subayai taunted as she glided in the air next to Yoruichi. She swung back her hand and swiped at Yoruichi with her claws, Unable to dodge, Yoruichi was sliced on the left shoulder and tumbled down into the forest below. As she fell, she pressed her feet against a tree trunk and flash-stepped the rest of the way down. She gripped her injured shoulder and began to get back up when Subayai's foot suddenly appeared on her back, holding her in place. "Don't you know the party's just starting?" Subayai launched Yoruichi against a nearby tree trunk with a kick. The former Captain of Squad 2 coughed up blood as her back collided with the tree and she slunk down. Subayai slowly approached the wounded Shinigami, not out of caution but out of a need to play with her food.

"How is this possible?" Yoruichi struggled to get back on her feet only for them to buckle under her. "No matter where I go, she's right there waiting for me. There's no way an untrained Hollow can be faster than me, even with the powers of an Arrancar. There has to be a trick to this but what?"

As Yoruichi pondered this, she noticed a few of her men appeared in the trees above her. Knowing at once that they were going to try and save her, she opened her mouth to protest but it was too late. Subayai noticed them at once and used Sonido to appear behind them, slashing them all in the back with her claws before they had a chance to react. One of the men took the brunt of the strike and fell to the forest floor dead. Another one landed on a nearby tree branch and let go of his bleeding arm to unsheathe his Zanpakuto. Before he could call out its name, however, Subayai appeared before him and cut his stomach open.

"That movement just now." Yoruichi thought as she watched the grisly scene unfold. "That wasn't Sonido. There was no sound to it. There was no movement. It was as if she simply materialized next to her target. Wait! Is that..."

Her thoughts were interrupted by the dying screams of a third Squad 2 member as she was kicked into a tree trunk by Subayai. Tired of seeing her subordinates die, Yoruichi angrily roared into the sky. "Hey! Come back here!'

Subayai landed on a tree branch and stared at Yoruichi for a moment as if to confirm that it was her who yelled. Then the Arrancar appeared before the wounded shinigami. Once again, there was no sound or any indication of movement. One moment she was in the trees and the next she was looming over Yoruichi. After a few more moments of silence, Yoruichi spoke.

"I think I get it now." She rasped.

Subayai tilted her head curiously. "Oh? And what is it you get exactly?"

"Your power." Yoruichi tried to stand up again and this time succeeded with the help of the tree behind her which she leaned on for support. "At first, I couldn't figure out how you were catching up to me. It couldn't have been Sonido because there wasn't any sound or movement I could sense. It was as if you were simply teleporting to where I was."

Subayai's eyes, now free of their mask, narrowed into brown slits.

"It's your Resurreccion isn't it?" Yoruichi smirked. "That's how you've been able to get the drop on us."

Subayai continued to stare down at Yoruichi. Then she flashed a smirk of her own. "My, my. How astute of you Yoruichi Shinouin. Not that you have any business knowing about my powers." She tilted her head again. "But since you're about to die, I suppose I at least explain the power that was used to kill you. Consider it a reward for surviving long enough to figure it out."

Subayai held up her claws to Yoruichi, the blood of her enemies glimmering in the light of the moon. "My Zanpakuto's name is Shomei Chita and when I release its powers, my prey's chance of escape falls to zero. Do you want to know why?"

Yoruichi said nothing but simply continued to stare at the Arrancar as she continued.

"It's all thanks to these claws on my hands." Subayai flexed her fingers as she said this. "If I can manage even the tiniest little prick by myself, it creates an intangible line between me and my target. Using this line, I can automatically teleport exactly one foot from where the target is, no matter where they are." Subayai giggled uncontrollably. "And the best part? Since I have ten claws, I can use them on ten targets at once!" She walked up to Yoruichi and poked her claw into her forehead. "Taking out your subordinates was a piece of cake. They were all too distracted by Master Freddy to even sense me coming. As for you, well, you really shouldn't have tried to call for backup."

Yoruichi's eyes widened. "That's when she did it! She cut me while I was making the call to Soifon!"

"I don't know who you called with that strange device of yours but if they're on their way here, the others and I will be sure to kill them before they can even lay a finger on our master." Subayai's smirk turned into a sharp-toothed maniacal grin as she poised her claws ready to slice Yoruichi's throat open. "And what better sight for them to see when they arrive than your gutted naked corpse hanging from a tree? Any last words Yoruichi Shinouin?"

To Subayai's complete and utter surprise, Yoruichi's response to her threat was to chuckle and say. "Thank you."

"H-Huh?" Thank me? F-For what? What's so funny?"

"You really are a novice when it comes to battle aren't you?" Yoruichi pushed herself from the tree and stood upright although she still held her wounds. "This is probably the first real battle you've ever been in hasn't it."

Subayai blushed at Yoruichi's accusation which only served to convince the Flash Goddess that she had hit the nail on the head. "S-So what?" Subayai pouted. "I still beat you!"

"Maybe you would have if you hadn't clued me on to how your power works." The wind began to slowly swell around Yoruichi's body, picking up more and more speed by the second and forcing Subayai to back off. "But now that I know how it works, the tables have turned." She looked into Subayai's now fearful eyes, her own eyes filled with predatory intent. "I'm sorry Subayai but your first real battle will also be your last."

"W-What's going on?" Subayai cried. "What power is this?"

The orange jacket on Yoruichi's person suddenly ripped into several tiny shreds and danced in the intense wind surrounding her before further disintegrating into nothingness. Subayai could sense immense powers emanating from Yoruichi's limbs and continued to back away as the Shinigami began approaching her. "This power is known as Shunko." She explained. "It is the strongest form of Hakuda among the Gotei 13.

"H-Hakuda?" The young Arrancar whimpered.

"Shinigami use four skills in combat with their enemies. Zanjutsu, Hoho, Kido and Hakuda. Since your ability renders my Hoho useless, I'll use my Hakuda to defeat you instead." With this, Yoruichi made a punching motion with her left arm, delivering a blast of energy that sent Subayai hurtling through the forest. The cat-like Arrancar smashed through the trunks of several trees before slamming into a large boulder that crumbled into a pile of pebbles upon impact. She quickly picked herself up and looked at her hand, watching the line connected to Yoruichi that only she could see and touch. It seemed to waver at the presence of this new power but was still there regardless.

Subayai smirked and teleported to where Yoruichi was. "Nice try!" She thought "But I already told you! As long as this line, this string of fate stays connected to you, I'll find you no matter where you run! You can't escape m-

Subayai's thoughts were interrupted by a fist launching itself into her face and knocking her back several feet. She landed on her hands and feet and dug her claws into the forest floor. "What is this?" She thought angrily. "She managed to land a blow as soon as I appeared." Once again, Subayai used her Resurreccion ability, and once again, she was dealt a blow as soon as she was within reach, this time with a foot going into her stomach. The Arrancar slammed against a tree and the force of the impact caused it to uproot and fall backward. From the resulting dust cloud emerged a wounded and enraged Subayai who was quickly losing herself in her frustration.

"How are you doing this?! No one should be fast enough to counter my attacks! Not even you!" With an animalistic howl of rage, Subayai launched herself again and again at Yoruichi who continued to remain in place, only moving to punch or kick the Arrancar away every time she came near. Every blow landed and in addition to growing weaker from the beatings, Subayai was falling about mentally as well, unable to comprehend how Yoruichi's Shunko could make this much of a difference. "This can't be! I can't be losing like this! I won't stop! That Shunko has to run out sometime and when it does, you'll be mine! You'll be all-

With one Shunko-charged arm, Yoruichi ended the fight by impaling Subayai through the stomach, right above her hole.

"..mine..." The cat-like Arrancar coughed up blood and went limp on Yoruichi's arm. Yoruichi allowed the energy flowing through her body to waver a little before lowering the Arrancar's feet to the ground, grabbing her shoulder and pulling out her arm from the newly formed hole in her torso. She released her grip and watched as the corpse fell to the floor. Not but a few seconds later, she heard Freddy's disgruntled voice speaking to her from behind.

"Bitch! You killed one of my main squeezes." He hissed.

"Squeezes?" Yoruichi turned to face the target, her signature smirk having returned to her face. "Surely you jest."

Freddy's lips formed a smirk of their own. "What can I say? Bitches are attracted to power and I'm overflowing with it." Freddy approached Subayai's body and, as an unimpressed Yoruichi watched, jammed one of his finger blades into her temple. The body was at once bathed in an eerie white light before it disintegrated and the resulting energy was absorbed by Freddy. He flailed around slightly for a moment as if he had drunk one too many servings of sake before reclaiming his footing and facing Yoruichi again. "Doesn't matter." He chuckled as he wiped a bit of spittle from his lips. "I still have Harekuin."

Yoruichi's eyes widened as she remembered that Subayai had mentioned serving Freddy with her comrades. "How many?" Her eyes narrowed. "How many Arrancar do you have serving you and where are they?"

"Tsk tsk." Freddy waved his finger at her disapprovingly. "Don't you know you never ask a man his salary or his number of employees!" As he lowered his hand, Yoruichi was able to see that his smirk had grown into a sadistic grin that made her blood run cold. "But I will let you in on a little secret. Subayai was able to overhear your little phone call."

Yoruichi's heart dropped.

"She relayed it to me and while you girls were having your little catfight, I sent the rest of my merry band of bitches to intercept your backup. I don't know who you sent for but they'll never even make it within spitting distance of me." Freddy burst into another round of insidious laughter as Yoruichi tensed her fist up.

"Don't panic." She mentally told herself. "Soifon is a Captain of the 13 Court Guard Squads now. There's no way a few measly Arrancar would be able to take her down." She flared her Shunko up once more, silencing Freddy. "Nevertheless, I should still try to back her up. I got her into this mess after all." She locked eyes with Freddy and took a battle stance. Freddy seemed confused at first but once he was able to make out what was going on, his eyes narrowed and he opened his right hand with the sound of the blades scraping together ringing in the air. "Don't worry Soifon." Yoruichi continued in her mind. "I promise I'll come to help you just as soon as I destroy this monster!"

"Just a little more," Soifon shouted. "I can feel Lady Yoruichi's spiritual pressure up ahead!"

Her subordinates murmured in agreement and continued to follow their Captain as she led them deeper into the forest. Tensions were high and they all looked to her for the confidence they felt themselves lacking, shameful as this was to the battle-hardened Onmisukido. Little did they realize, it was their Captain who was fighting her own fears the hardest.

"The call was cut off before I could finish. I could tell that much from the horrible interference at the end. Something terrible must have happened!" Soifon aggressively shook her head. "Stop it! There's no time for childish panic! Besides, this is Lady Yoruichi we're talking about! She's fine!" Soifon felt her lips tremble. "She has to be."

Soifon was so lost in her own head that she nearly crashed into the three figures that suddenly appeared on the tree branch before her. It was only when she was a mere foot away from them that their spiritual presence pulled her out of her funk to which she reacted with a yelp and a reverse flash-step. Her subordinates stopped at once and stood alongside their Captain as she recomposed herself. Once she had her bearings back, Soifon was quick to realize that the newcomers were in fact a trio of Arrancar.

"Well well well." The sole female among them cooed. "What do we have here?

"Looks to me like a bunch of pests that need to be exterminated at once." The black-haired male scoffed.

"Really? Because all I see are a bunch of Shinigami I wanna punch to death." The bulky male stated flatly.

The black-haired male's stoic face suddenly screwed up into an expression of annoyed rage. "That's what I just said, you neanderthal!"

"Hey! What did I tell you about calling me names that don't make any sense!?" The bulky man growled.

"Oh believe me! There's not a word in the entire Universe that better describes you!" The two males began to shout at each other as everyone watched. The Squad 2 Shinigami had mixed feelings about the situation with some feeling amusement, others feeling annoyed and a few simply suffering from second-hand embarrassment. Soifon's only reaction was to twitch her left eye as she watched the men argue. Finally, the female Arrancar, while letting out an irritated groan, grabbed the back of her comrade's heads and bash them together.

"Atama! Tsuyoi! Stop this bickering at once!" She demanded. "Mister K gave us a job to do and it doesn't involve being at each other's throats! Now let's focus on the task at hand shall we?"

The male Arrancar rubbed their heads for a few moments before turning their attention back to the shinigami. "You're right Harekuin." Atama chirped as he grabbed the hilt of his Zanpakuto. "We should put our energy into destroying these pests."

Tsuyoi lifted his arms into the air with a triumphant roar. "Yeaah! Let's crush them to death!"

"Stealth Force! Attack!" Soifon demanded, sending her subordinates scattering in every possible direction. The Arrancar used Sonido to join the Shinigami in the air. As Harekuin and Atama engaged with the Onmisukido members, Soifon intercepted Tsuyoi.

"Your friend mentioned someone named Mister K." She spoke as she unsheathed her Zanpakuto. "You wouldn't by chance be working for a man named Freddy Krueger would you?"

"So what if we do?" Tsuyoi unsheathed his own Zanpakuto as well. "You ain't ever gonna reach him because I'm gonna tear every one of those little limbs off your body!" Both opponents took battle stances and called out the name of their weapons.

"Sting All Enemies to Death, Suzumebachi!"

"Fuck 'em up, Uchikudaku!"

Light enveloped both weapons at once. Soifon's weapon broke apart and reformed on her right hand, becoming a black and yellow gantlet with a stinger-like apparatus on the middle finger. Meanwhile, the light emanating from Uchikudaku overcame Tsuyoi and his entire form changed underneath. Once the light dissipated, Soifon was able to take in the new form of her enemy. Not only was he somehow even bigger but there were green dots all over his body.

"What do you think?" Tsuyoi boasted. "Pretty impressive right?"

Soifon simply scoffed. "By Arrancar standards maybe, but by Shinigami standards? Not at all." Soifon flash-stepped away and reappeared behind the hulking brute. "Best to finish this guy off quickly so we can back Yoruichi up." She thought as she went to strike his shoulder blade with Suzumebachi. Before the tip of her weapon could make contact and leave its mark, however, the green dot under her wrist suddenly shot out into a spike, impaling her arm. Soifon yelped in pain, tore her arm away from the spike, and quickly created distance between herself and a laughing Tsuyoi.

"Gotcha didn't I?" He teased before flexing his muscles, causing all of the green dots to shoot up into spikes. "This is the power of my Resurreccion! You fell right for my trap!"

Soifon gripped her wounded arm tightly and inspected it. There didn't seem to be any discoloration or any other sign that she had been poisoned. Aside from the initial pain of being impaled, there was nothing wrong with her arm.

"What's going on?" She thought woefully. "Are those spikes poison or not? Well just to be safe.." Soifon suddenly ripped off her Captain's Haori and embedded Suzumebachi's blade into her now bare shoulder. A butterfly mark, the Homuka, appeared on it.

"The hell you doing?" Tsuyoi asked with a scratch to his temple. "You're supposed to try to stab me with that thing, not yourself."

"I'm just getting to that," Soifon answered. "Don't think a couple of spikes are going to save you!"

Tsuyoi grinned at that response and put both of his fists up. "Ready when you are!"

And with that, both opponents charged at each other.

"How...is...this...possible?" Yoruichi wheezed between breaths. She had spent the better part of the past hour fighting Freddy and technically, she was winning. The Dream Demon's powers of teleportation and flames were no match for her speed and strength. And yet, she found herself the one exhausted, her wounds having reopened from the fight. The reason for this was simple. No matter how many lethal blows she dealt him, Yoruichi could not seem to kill Freddy.

"Was that as good for you as it was for me?" Freddy snickered as he forced himself back up from the tree trunk she had just smashed him into. The force of the blow had ruptured his abdomen and as he stood up, his intestines spilled out into a red goopy mess. Freddy looked down at this wound, looked back at Yoruichi with a stunned look on his face then smiled smugly as, with a single swipe of his arm, the wound repaired itself.

"How..." Yoruichi got back to her own feet as well. "How are you still alive?"

"Let's just say I have a deal with the devil so to speak," Freddy informed the Shinigami. "As long as I have souls, I can't be killed and boy do I have some souls!" Freddy patted his stomach and licked his lips with a laugh.

"You sick bastard," Yoruichi grunted. "Don't think you've won! I don't care how many times it takes. I won't stop until you..." Before Yoruichi could finish her threat, however, she suddenly sensed a familiar spiritual pressure from a ways behind her. It was Soifon's and it was growing weaker by the second. "Soifon!" Yoruichi looked back and forth between her apprentice and her opponent before finally retreating using flash-step. She mentally kicked herself as she fled, knowing she was compromising the mission.

"Soifon won't be please with me for putting her life over the mission." She thought. "But I can't just sit back and let her die!"

Freddy watched with amusement as Yoruichi vanished into the darkness of the forest. "You just made a big mistake bitch." He mused as his newest powers went to work and flooded his head with her memories. "You should never stand a guy up on a first date!"

"How...is...this...possible?" Soifon wheezed between breaths. Her fight with Tsuyoi had raged on for the better half of the past hour and she had managed to get a few hits on him. The marks on his cheek, shoulder, and chest were proof of that. Despite this, however, Soifon was having trouble landing the second strike she needed to end the fight. Not because of Tsuyoi's growing strength or the numerous spikes growing out of his body but because, for some reason, her own strength was wavering. She could feel herself getting growing weaker as the battle raged on and it was at too rapid a decline to simply be from exhaustion.

"Could it have been the spike?" Soifon thought to herself as she watched her foe dance around and mock her.

"What's wrong, Shinigami? Starting to get cold feet!?" Tsuyoi bellowed.

"There couldn't have been poison in that spike. Suzumebachi's venom would have already countered it" She thought as she launched herself at him again.

"Too slow!" With his left arm, Tsuyoi backhanded Soifon into a nearby tree trunk. The Squad 2 Captain coughed up blood and slid down the trunk, stopping herself from hitting the ground by stabbing Suzumebachi into the bark. The sounds of battle rang in her ears and as Soifon looked up, she could see the other two Arrancar making quick work of her subordinates. Atama was cutting them down with almost no effort while Harekuin sliced her enemies apart whilst dancing in the trees, giggling madly to herself all the while. A drop of her subordinate's blood fell onto her cheek and with her free hand, she wiped it off and brought it to her eyes.

"His strength." She thought. "It seems to increase as mine decreases. Is it possible..."

Before Soifon could finish that thought, she sensed a familiar spiritual pressure approaching her. Her heart sank when she realized that not only was it her master Yoruichi but that it was weakening as well. "Lady Yoruichi. She took one last look at Tsuyoi who glared at her from above and flash-stepped away toward her mentor.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Tsuyoi was about to follow her when he suddenly sensed his own master's spiritual pressure. "Oh, I see." He grinned. "I guess the boss wants to get in on the fun."

"Soifon! Soifon where are you?" Yoruichi flew through the woods as fast as she could with the wounds she carried. Her apprentice's spiritual pressure grew fainter and fainter with each passing second and her fear of finding Soifon dead in the arms of an Arrancar grew more and more intense. "Soifon!" She called out, all priority to the mission abandoned. "Soifon!"

Then she spotted her. A bloodied and bruised Shinigami resting against a tree, curled up in a ball as she gripped at her wounds. Hearing the sound of her name being called, the black-haired Shinigami slowly looked up, the fear and pain in her eyes giving way to relief and hope as they gazed upon their mentor "L-Lady Yoruichi!"

"Soifon!" Yoruichi beamed as she landed on the tree branch next to her student and wrapped her arms around her. "Thank Goodness you're safe!"

"I'm Sorry Lady Yoruichi." Soifon breathed as her mentor helped her to her feet. "There were too many Arrancar They caught us by surprise."

"It's ok." Yoruichi moved her hands to Soifon's shoulders and propped her upright. "I was caught off guard as well. It would seem Freddy has amassed an army of sorts. We need to report this to the Head Captain at once!"

Soifon weakly nodded before pushing herself into her mentor's bosom once again. Yoruichi was surprised by this show of affection but given the circumstance, she didn't give it much thought and instead held her student close.

"You're right Lady Yoruichi. We should report this. But there's something you need to do first." She whispered.

"What?" Yoruichi listened well for Soifon's answer but it never came. Instead, she felt a sharp pain in her gut and as she looked down, she was horrified to find Freddy's finger blades embedding themselves into her stomach. Yoruichi slowly looked back up and met the gaze of not her beloved pupil but of a sneering Freddy Krueger.

"Die!"

With one last twist of the blades in her stomach, Yoruichi finally screamed.

"...N...No...No..."

Soifon couldn't comprehend what was happening before her eyes. She had finally reached the place where her mentor's spiritual pressure was coming from and, to her horror, found a strange man with a red and green sweater digging his hand into Yoruichi's stomach. The stunned Captain of the Stealth Force could only watch as his bloodied hand wrenched itself out of her mentor, taking a good portion of her innards with it.

"Lady Yoruichi!" Soifon finally managed to scream.

Yoruichi slowly turned her horrified gaze to her student and mouthed something that Soifon couldn't hear. By the motion of her lips, however, Soifon could tell what it was.

"I'm sorry."

Yoruichi fell off the tree branch as the man broke into hysterical laughter.

"Lady Yoruichi!" Soifon dove after her mentor, hoping to catch her, to carry her to safety, back to the Seireitei, to the Squad 4 barracks, and fix her wound, to save her life

But none of those things would come to pass. Instead, Yoruichi's body was encompassed by a bright light that flew out of Soifon's reaching grasp and into the laughing madman above. He groaned and grunted as the energy that had once been Yoruichi Shinouin was absorbed into his body. "Wow!" He shouted once it was over. "What a rush!"

"Nooo!" Soifon screamed as she landed on the forest floor feet first. "This can't be!"

"Oh but it is." The man Soifon knew without a shadow of a doubt was Freddy. "And you're next, little girl." He pointed to her as he said this.

"Give her back!" Soifon fought back tears as she launched herself at Freddy. "Give Lady Yoruichi back right now!"

Before she could strike him with Suzumebachi, however, Soifon was suddenly hit in the stomach by Tsuyoi's fist. The blow sent Soifon crashing into the trees below and finally into the forest floor.

"Sorry we're late boss!" He apologized as Atama and Harekuin joined him. The latter looked around a bit and asked. "Where's Subayai?"

Freddy shook his head somewhat sadly. "She's out of commission I'm afraid."

"I see." The other Arrancar took a moment to silently mourn their comrade. Then, without warning, Harekuin suddenly and happily latched herself onto Freddy's arm. "Oh well. At least this means I don't have to share you with her anymore Master!"

As Freddy and Harekuin locked tongues, the remaining members of the Stealth Force gathered around their Captain and helped her to her feet.

"Captain Soifon!"

"Are you alright?"

"Speak to us!"

Soifon ignored her subordinate's pleas and looked back up at Freddy and his followers. "Freddy!" She shouted, grabbing his attention. "Give her back!"

Harekuin pondered what Soifon was talking about for a moment, smiling maniacally once it hit her. "So you did it Master?"

Freddy grinned. "I sure did and I'll tell you something, it was a real treat." He turned back to Soifon and her men. "Your pretty boy comrade gave me back my nightmare powers." He beamed. "I can't wait to see what your precious mentor will give me!"

"You bastard!" Soifon screamed as she tried to launch herself at Freddy again. The pain from Tsuyoi's punch stopped her in her tracks and brought her to her knees.

"Captain Soifon!" One of her men screamed.

"Adios Little Bee! Until we meet again!"

With that said, Freddy snapped his fingers and Garganta opened up. He and the Arrancar stepped inside and Soifon watched as it closed back up.

"He can open Gargantas?"

"Who is this guy!?"

"We have to report this to the Head Captain at once! Right, Captain Soifon?...Captain?"

The words of her subordinates didn't reach her at all. Soifon was still, the events that had just played out and the finality of them being processed in her mind. Once she was able to fully comprehend it all, tears flowed freely from her eyes as she cried out to the sky.

"LADY YORUICHI!"

(I know. I know. Real original with the Arrancar's names right? Go easy on me! I'm not fluent in Japanese and I have to come up with names for both the Arrancar and their Zanpakuto!)