Chapter 7: Are You Ready For Freddy? (Side 2)

"Reign Upon the Frosted Heavens, Hyorinmaru!" Toshiro cried out as a great dragon made of ice formed from the tip of his Zanpakuto. The dragon wasted no time rushing toward Freddy who jumped out of the way just as it hit the ground.

"That was cold of you, little boy!" Freddy taunted. "You'll never get a girlfriend with an icy heart like that!"

"I don't want to hear such comments from the likes of you!" Toshiro shouted as his ice dragon suddenly split into two and the heads both lunged at Freddy.

"Oh shit!" Freddy grumbled as he realized that in the air, he had no way to dodge the attack. The dragons bit him on the head and side and the Springwood Slasher screamed out in agony as his entire body was frozen solid. The dragons released their grip, allowing the lifeless chuck of ice that was once Freddy to fall to the ground and shatter upon impact. The resulting mess of ice and gore would only remain still for a moment before it suddenly reformed back into a laughing Freddy. "Hahaha! Now that's what I call brisk!"

"I don't believe this!" Soifon cursed. She was breathing heavily while gripping her right arm. Further down on her hand, Suzumebachi dripped with Freddy's blood. "All of our attacks have no effect on him!"

"That's not entirely true," Retsu whispered. "Our attacks are working. The problem is that Freddy keeps surviving them somehow." The two Shinigami women surveyed the battlefield. At this point, everyone aside from Retsu had released their Shikai against Freddy with the Visored Captains even putting on their Hollow masks to increase their power. Despite their best efforts, however, Freddy just kept reviving, again and again, mocking them every time he did so. The Captains were growing fatigued and something had to be done soon.

"Kageoni!" Shunsui's voice rang out as his blade emerged from Freddy's shadow and ran through his stomach. The Springwood Slasher coughed up blood and fell to his knees as the blade retreated back into his shadow. It suddenly emerged again, this time ramming into Freddy's chest. Again and again, Shunsui's blade ran through Freddy until the Dream Demon's shadow was encompassed by his blood and he grew still. Shunsui slowly emerged from Ukitake's shadow, both blades of his Katen Kyokotsu dripping with blood. "I have to say," Shunsui sighed. "I really wish you would do us a favor and stay dead."

"Sorry," Freddy murmured as he picked himself up from his own puddle of blood. "No can do. I will hand it to you Shinigami, you bastards sure are vicious." He put his hand to his chin in thought. "Let's see. So far, I've been frozen!" He sliced off one of his fingers and continued to do for each method of death he counted. "Then poisoned, burned, sliced, and diced into a bunch of tiny pieces by rose petals and stung to death." He shot an amused glance at Soifon, causing the Captain of the Stealth Force to grit her teeth in anger. "Not to mention my head's still spinning from whatever the fuck that blonde guy did to me."

Shinji said nothing but offered a scoff instead.

"I've been killed before, plenty of times in fact, but never in such creative ways. Honestly, I feel like I should be taking notes here or something!" Freddy burst into laughter once more and rose his hand which, despite his pruning earlier, now had all five fingers on it. "But no matter what you do, you can't kill me. I told you once and I'll tell you again, I am forever!"

Soifon's arms trembled in anger. "This bastard killed Lady Yoruichi, invaded the Seireitei and now he's mocking our powers! I can't stand it anymore! I have to kill him somehow! And I think I know how.." She turned to Retsu and whispered. "Captain Unohana, can Minazuki carry everyone on its back?"

Retsu looked at Soifon with widened eyes. "You mean all the Captains at once? I suppose it's possible but it wouldn't be a comfortable ride for anyone. Why? Have you decided to retreat?"

Soifon shook her head. "No. I just don't want anyone else to be caught in the blast."

Retsu's eyes grew even wider." Captain Soifon! You can't mean..."

"So far, none of our Shikais have worked. It's time to take it to the next level. Besides, as selfish as they may sound, I need to be the one who kills Freddy. He needs to die by my hand."

Retsu could see that Soifon was fighting back tears as she spoke and understood her feelings. "You do know the other Captains won't approve of this."

"I know. And I'll happily take a verbal lashing from them all and even the Head Captain after this is all said and done. But for right now, I need to do this."

"I understand." Retsu unsheathed her Zanpakuto. "Go on. Buy us some time."

"Very well." Soifon activated Shunko and dashed toward Freddy, the Dream Demon only having enough time to turn toward her before she kicked him in the shin and sent him flying backward. Freddy had to use his blades to slow and eventually stop his momentum toward the edge of the pillar.

"Bitch!" He shouted as he rubbed his chin. "You'll fuck up my good looks!"

"I've had it with you Krueger!" Soifon took a fighting stance. "You and me! One-on-one! Right now!"

Freddy tilted his head and cooed with interest before flexing his blades and rushing toward Soifon. The Squad 2 Captain vanished from sight and reappeared at Freddy's side, smashing her elbow into his ribs. Freddy heaved forward but was not given a second to catch his breath before Soifon kicked him in the chin, sending him flying toward the sky. She used flash-step again and reappeared above Freddy, slamming her foot into his stomach and sending him crashing into the ground.

"Ugggh." Freddy moaned as he peeled himself out of the self-made crater. "Women. Can't live with them. Period." He lifted his head up to look for Soifon and was greeted with the sight of a giant green one-eyed creature flying toward him. "What the fuck!? Gah!" He quickly ducked down as the creature flew over him, knocking off his fedora in the process. Once he was sure it was no longer over him and that he wasn't in its stomach, Freddy quickly spotted his hat several feet from him, stretched out his hand to snatch it up, and placed it back on his head as he looked up.

The giant creature, which Freddy could now tell resembled a manta ray, flew overhead with all the Captains on its back. "Hang tight everyone!" Retsu, who sat right on top of the creature's head, requested. "This ride will get a little bumpy."

"I don't believe this," Mayuri complained. "Of all the indignities."

"I just hope Soifon will be alright." Ukitake fretted. "I understand her plan well but this is just too risky."

"Perhaps," Toshiro agreed. "But it just might be our best option against Freddy."

Freddy watched as the giant creature flew away from the pillar and downward. "Hey! You left your fucking friend up here!" He shouted, feeling both confusion and anger swell up inside of him. "Great. Just when they were getting good and exhausted." His anger was replaced by humor as he realized that one of them, Soifon, was still in his midst. "All well, I suppose I could take this one at a time. After all, I prefer to play a little with the cuter souls and you...are..."

As Freddy turned around to taunt Soifon, he found himself staring at the head of a giant missile pointing directly at him from the other side of the pillar top. Its gold coloring glistened in the sunlight and attached to the end of its base was some kind of shield. Soifon's hateful right eye glared at Freddy from the small slit in the shield as she stood behind it. "It's over Krueger." She stated flatly. "This time, you won't be able to bounce back."

"What the fuck?" Freddy shouted. "What the fuck is that thing? That coloring...don't tell me it's..."

"Indeed," Soifon smirked. "This is Suzumebachi's Bankai, Jakuho Raikoben! Personally, I would have preferred not to use my Bankai to finish you off, especially where the other Captains will be able to see it. It offends my pride as an assassin because of its size, weight, and flashiness. But I suppose that is of no interest to someone like you who slaughters others for the sheer joy of it."

"B...Bankai?" Freddy's lips trembled. He backed away slowly until he was near the edge of the pillar, nearly losing his footing and falling backward. "You...You wouldn't!"

"For the sake of Soul Society, even a monster like you would cringe at the depths I would go." As Soifon spoke, the fins protruding from along the sides of the missile extended. "When it comes to the mission, nothing else matters. Not the innocent. Not my allies." The top of the pillar trembled as the missile prepared to fire. "Not even my own life."

"No...No!"

The missile launched itself from the base, sending Soifon flying off of the pillar and plummeting toward the ground. Her already speedy descent was quickened by the force of the explosion from on top of the pillar. Despite this, she smiled as she witnessed the explosion above her, knowing that it occurring could only mean that her Bankai had hit its mark. Not even ashes remained of Fredrick Charles Krueger and as Soifon tried to find his spiritual pressure, her smile grew even wider once she realized she no longer could.

"I did it Lady Yoruichi!" Soifon thought happily as tears bubbled up in her eyes only to be carried upwards into the sky. "I avenged you! Please rest in peace now."

It was then, however, that Soifon heard a loud "crack" above and she opened her eyes to see what it was. The Sekkiseki directly above the pillar had cracked as a result of the explosion. The cracks spread across the entire wall and before long, the entire thing slowly but surely began to shatter, piece by piece. Soifon couldn't help but gulp as she watched the destruction unfold.

"I know what I said about taking everyone's verbal lashing happily before," She thought fretfully, "But I might just get kicked out of the Gotei 13 for this." She drew in a deep breath and exhaled. "It doesn't matter." She thought as the smile returned to her face. "No matter what comes next, It will have been worth it. Freddy is dead and Yoruichi can fina-OOF!"

Soifon landed hard on the back of Minazuki as it flew by the pillar. With the Captain of the Stealth Force safely in tow, Retsu commanded her Zanpakuto to fly away from the now crumbling pillar, a large chunk of it nearly flanking it along the way. Once Minazuki was far enough away from the pillar to begin its descent, Ukitake quickly scrambled toward Soifon who was still trying to process what had just happened.

"Captain Soifon! Are you alright?" He asked fearfully.

"What were you thinking?" Shunsui scolded. "You could have gotten yourself killed with that little maneuver, you know?"

"Not the mention you destroyed the Seireiheki!" Toshiro shouted. "Do you have any idea how much that is going to cost to fix?"

Soifon got up and rubbed her head. She looked around at all the other Captains before her and exhaled once more. "I'm sorry. I'll make amends for the wall however I can." She responded in a content tone that caught the other Captains off-guard.

"Wha...We-Well alright." Toshiro turned away so Soifon wouldn't see the shocked expression on his face. "As long as you understand the gravity of what you've done."

Soifon allowed herself a weak smile. Her body was fatigued from the use of her Bankai and she would need to rest awhile once she had the chance. Even with Freddy gone, there was still an army of Arrancar and a destroyed Seireitei standing between her and her bed, not to mention the harsh punishment she was sure she would receive for destroying the Seireiheki. Nevertheless, Soifon smiled and held that smile as Minazuki landed on the ground.

"Any word on Captain Zaraki and the others?" Ukitake asked Byakuya who was the first to jump off of Minazuki. The Squad 6 Captain held out his hand in the direction of the Lieutenants and concentrated on their spiritual pressure as well as the Arrancar's. "Most of the Arrancar have been defeated." He stated. "And Ichigo is among them now. They are heading this way as we speak."

"They must have noticed Minazuki flying this way." Shunsui deduced as he watched Retsu reseal her Zanpakuto. He then turned to Sajin. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine." The Squad 7 Captain answered as he looked over himself. "The fleas seemed to have vanished after the explosion. I must assume that means Captain Soifon was successful in her assassination." He turned to the Squad 2 Captain. "Great work!"

"There's no need to thank me," Soifon responded in a tone more becoming of her character. "I simply carried out my duty as a Captain of the Gotei 13."

Flaming rocks began to rain down around the Captains, some as small as dogs and others as huge as houses. All eyes turned to the stretch of sky where the pillar used to stand, now engulfed by a giant cloud of dust emanating from the ever-crumbling structure.

"Well we better go and meet up with the others," Shunsui spoke as he fixed his hat in place. "Who's gonna be the one to tell Zaraki that Freddy's dead because it won't be me."

"I guess I will." Soifon offered. "After all, I'm the one who stole his prey."

"Surely you jest Captain Soifon!" Ukitake spluttered. "Even without your current condition, that's basically suicide!"

"Fear not Captain Junshiro." Retsu chimed. "I'll be there to reel Zaraki in. After all, it would bring shame upon the name of the Gotei 13 for all of us to survive such a disaster only to lose one of our own to each other." The statement Retsu made resulted in laughter from every Captain aside from Byakuya and Mayuri who was still bitter about not getting to experiment on Freddy. Even Soifon, who in any other situation would have joined Byakuya in silence, allowed herself a small giggle. Once it was over she realized there was another sound mingled with the laughter of her fellow Captains. She had to focus on it to make out what it was and once she had, her blood ran cold.

It was the sound of clapping.

The other Captains heard it as well and turned around toward the direction of the noise. From the flames directly in front of them slowly emerged a figure, a burning skeleton that continued to clap its hands as it approached them. As it continued to walk, a small rain cloud formed over its head and slowly doused the flames. Once the flames were extinguished, the skeleton stopped in its tracks and clapped one final time. Upon this final clap, the rain cloud vanished and the skeleton's blackened bones began to bleed from every joint they possessed. The blood began to form tissue and nerve endings that covered the charred skeleton completely. As the Captain's watched in horror, the dents within the flesh began to morph into screaming faces.

Mayuri was quick to recognize some of the faces as those belonging to Sajin's subordinates who had earlier made up Freddy's throne. "Hmm. How interesting." He smiled widely.

"N..No" Soifon uttered while taking a step back. "N..No...It can't be..."

"You have got to fucking kidding me." Kensei cursed under his breath.

"What is he?" Toshiro growled.

"He's a monster," Sajin answered with his fangs bared. He too had recognized his subordinate's faces, their souls, trapped within the flesh. "A complete and utter monster."

"Bravo bitch, bravo!" Freddy growled as his regeneration neared its completion, his clothing morphing from the screaming faces that made up his torso. "I have to admit, I never expected to be fucking nuked."

"Bastard!" Soifon growled.

"What was it you said earlier, what you called it before blasting me?" Freddy put his blades to his chin and once again made a gesture like he had just come up with an idea. "That's right! Bankai! You said that thing was your Bankai right?"

"You should be dead!" Tears began to flow from Soifon's eyes once more. "You should be dead!"

"Captain Soifon, control yourself!" Retsu demanded as she held an arm in front of the despairing Squad 2 Captain. "Now is not the time to lose yourself!"

Freddy let out a howl of laughter as he watched Soifon fighting to keep her dwindling resolve. "And here I thought your Shikais were bad, but as it turns out, you motherfuckers have been hiding your true power from me all this time! To be honest, I'm a little offended."

Byakuya squinted. "Are you saying you want us to use our Bankai on you?"

"I'm saying if you want to stand a snowball's chance in Hell against me, you better use your Bankai." Freddy growled.

"You want it?" Toshiro snapped as he unsheathed his Zanpakuto! "You can have it! Bankai! Daiguren Hyorimaru!"

"Captain Hitsuguya! Wait!" Sajin called out but it was too late. Ice grew from Hyorimaru and encased several parts of Toshiro's body. The ice formed wings and a tail from his back and three flower-like objects appeared above him, the three petals comprising them glistening among the flaming rubble around them.

"Look at that," Freddy snickered. "Kid got himself some wings and he didn't even have to drink a Red Bull!"

"Shut up!" Toshiro flew up into the sky and swung his sword toward Freddy, conjuring a wave of hail that blasted toward the Dream Demon. Freddy's only response was to lurch and bend down as if he needed to vomit.

"Hold on...I think I'm gonna..." Freddy belched a gigantic wave of fire towards the hail, reducing it to steam in seconds. The great line of flame continued upwards toward the stunned Toshiro and engulfed him. The ice encasing his body began to rapidly melt and he fell back to the ground screaming.

"Toshiro!" Ukitake cried.

"If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen." Freddy snorted as Byakuya flash-stepped behind him. The Dream Demon turned around just in time to see the Head of the Kuchiki clan drop his sword blade to the ground blade first.

"Bankai. Senbonzakura Kageyoshi." He stated as the blade vanished into the ground, much to Freddy's confusion. A ripple of energy expanded out and the surrounding area turned dark. Within seconds, two rows of enormous blades rose from the ground and further split apart into the tiny pink fragments Freddy had seen in his earlier battle with Byakuya. As the fragments circled around the two fighters, Freddy instantly knew what was about to happen.

"Oh no..."

"You will not be able to dodge nor defend against these infinite blades Krueger," Byakuya said as he lifted his hand toward Freddy. "Farewell."

The fragments rained down on Freddy and Byakuya turned away as they descended, expecting to hear Freddy's agonized screams. Instead, he heard the sound of a machine whirring, confusing him enough to turn back around and witness his countless blades being sucked up and a strange device he would later learn from Ichigo was a vacuum cleaner.

"Spring cleaning!" Freddy shouted as his device sucked up the last of Byakuya's blades. He then pointed the head of the device toward Byakuya and before the Squad 6 Captain could react, the storm of blades was suddenly shot outtowards him. He commanded Senbonzakura to cease its attack but due to the speed at which it was launched, the Zanpakuto was only able to stop after 100 or so blades had already sliced their master. The blood spurted out of his newly-formed wounds and Byakuya fell to the ground.

"Captain Kuchiki!" Soifon shouted.

"Gotta say Byakuya, you sure are a cut above the rest!" Hahaha!"

"Bankai! Konjiki Ashisogi Jizo!" Mayuri called out as he lifted up his Zanpakuto. The baby-like head on his guard open its mouth and vomited out a shape that quickly grew and reformed into a giant creature resembling a cross between a human baby and a caterpillar. "Catch him now!" Mayuri commanded and the creature obeyed, letting out and hellish whine as it rushed toward Freddy. The dream demon was too stunned by the appearance of the creature to dodge it or the many blades that suddenly erupted from its chest. He was skewered with prejudice and lifted into the air.

"Now Ashisogi Jizo!" Mayuri smiled. "Poison him! Don't let him go!"

The creature once again obeyed its master and released a cloud of poison from its mouth onto Freddy who immediately began coughing and writhing as his body began to darken. "Oh god! This smells worse than Hockey Puck's asscrack!" He cried as his body shriveled up and ceased its thrashing.

Mayuri let out a howl of laughter at the sight of Freddy's corpse. "You should have volunteered for my experiments when you had the chance! Alright Ashisogi Jizo, you know what to do."

Ashisogi Jizo retracted its blades back into its chest, launching Freddy into its mouth in the process. It swallowed him whole and Mayuri rose up the hilt of his Zanpakuto to call it back but before he could make the command, Ashisogi Jizo began to writhe in pain.

"Ashisogi Jizo? What's the matter?" Mayuri asked with a curious head tilt. He watched as his Zanpakuto continued to writhe and cry before its body started swelling. "What the-

Freddy's now giant bladed hand sliced through Ashisogi Jizo and as the rest of his body made his way out, the Zanpakuto was torn in two. The Captains watched in shock and horror as the giant Freddy loomed over them and laughed. "Guess your little pet bit off more than he can chew! Hahahaha!"

"Tsk! You bastard!" Mayuri growled.

"That's enough!" Sajin unsheathed his Zanpakuto. "It's time to end this. Everyone stay back!"

The other Captains didn't bother arguing this time and flash-stepped away from Sajin and Freddy, Retsu grabbing Toshiro and Byakuya before backing away. Once he was sure his allies were out of harm's way, Sajin called out' "Bankai! Kokujo Tengen Myo'o!" At once the giant sword-wielding arm from before returned, only now it was attached to a great suit of armor that matched Freddy's size. "This is for all of those you've slain!" Sajin roared as he slashed at Freddy's chest.

The Dream Demon did not expect the armor to be able to move quickly and so was caught off guard by its surprising speed and couldn't back away in time to totally avoid being cut. He let out a grunt of pain and green blood oozed from the freshly made wound on his chest. Sajin snarled in anger as he lifted up his blade, causing the great suit of armor to do the same. "Die monster!" He screamed as he brought the blade down on Freddy's head.

Before the blade could hit its mark, however, Freddy suddenly stopped it with both of his hands, pulled it out of the giant's grasp, and tossed it aside. The giant sword fell in front of the retreating Captains, barring their escape. Sajin only had time to open his mouth to cry out to his allies before Freddy's giant blades raked themselves across his own giant's chest. They cut through the armor and blood gushed forth from both Sajin and his giant.

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall!" Freddy mocked as he watched them hit the ground.

"Captain Komamura!" Shinji cried out.

"Dammit! This is unbelievable!" Kensei grunted. "This bastard keeps countering our Bankai!"

"How could a mere human be this powerful?" Rose fretted.

"He's not human," Soifon answered as she glared at the object of her hatred. "It's as Captain Komamura said. He's a monster."

Freddy's booming laughter forced the Captains to cover their ears. He stood before them so that his shadow encompassed them completely and rose his blades. "Do you get it now? I am the King of Nightmares and you are next!" Freddy lifted his right hand over himself and prepared to cut the rest of the Captains apart in one fell swoop.

"Getshuga Tenshou!" A voice suddenly called out. A slash of energy suddenly cut through Freddy's wrist and his bladed hand fell to the ground. The Dream Demon screamed in pain and clutched his wrist as he began to shrink. Once he was back to his normal size, he quickly found his severed hand which had also shrunk and reattached it. "Alright!" He growled as he turned toward the Shinigami. "Which one of you assholes pulled that sneak attack?"

"Oh it wasn't a sneak attack." A voice from behind Freddy spoke. He turned around and found himself face to face with a teenage boy with orange hair and a sword almost as big as his body.

"Ichigo." Shunsui said with relief in his voice.

"I take it you're the Freddy everyone's been talking about." Ichigo asked.

"The one and only." Freddy made a gesture to emphasize such. "And judging from that bitch Yoruichi's memories, you must be Ichigo Kurosaki, Boy wonder."

Ichigo's face darkened upon the mention of Yoruichi's name. "Her memories? What do you mean by that?"

"Kid, I've been haunting the dreamscape since before you were shitting in diapers," Freddy explained. "You don't spend that much time in the Dream Realm without learning to access someone's memories. How do you think I was able to plan this little invasion of mine?" He smirked.

"You bastard." Ichigo grunted.

"Don't get me wrong. It was hard work convincing all those Arrancar to trust me enough to go through the Garganta and if it weren't for Yoruichi's spirit energy," Freddy rubbed his stomach as he said this, "I wouldn't have been able to get past that damn wall of yours. Although," He looked up to the sky where the Seireiheki once stood. "I guess I don't have to worry about that anymore."

"You monster!" Ichigo shouted as he pointed his Zanpakuto at Freddy. "You're going to pay!"

"Hold on a minute!" Zaraki roared as he charged toward Freddy with Ichigo's friends and the Lieutenants following close behind him. "I wanna fight him next!"

Soifon flash-stepped in front of Zaraki, blocking his path and forcing the Squad 11 Captain to stop in his tracks. "Hey! What's the big idea!?"

"How many times do I have to tell you Krueger is my target!?" Soifon sharply turned toward Ichigo with venom in her eyes. "And that goes for you too, Substitute Shinigami!"

"Soifon..."Ichigo whispered. Before the conversation could escalate any further, a wall of fire suddenly appeared beside Ichigo and Freddy, separating them from everyone else. Soifon was forced to jump back as the flames lapped at her feet.

"Sorry Soy Sauce." Freddy sneered. "But I've been waiting for this moment for a while now." He turned toward Ichigo and clinked his blades together. "Let's just see if you live up to the hype, Carrot Top."

"C-Carrot Top?" Veins popped out from Ichigo's forehead. "Don't bring my hair color into this! How would you like it if I called you a...um...a scarecrow reject!"

"R-Reject?" Now veins popped out from Freddy's forehead. "How dare you! Even if I was a scarecrow, I'd still be the scariest thing you've ever seen." To Freddy's surprise, Ichigo responded to this with a giggle. "Hey! What's so funny?"

"Please. I've wiped crap off the bottom of my shoe that's scarier than you." Ichigo retorted.

"Why you-" Freddy stopped himself and took a deep breath and recomposed himself. "I guess there's only one way to settle this." As he spoke, he took a fighting stance with his bladed arm's shoulder over his head.

"Yeah," Ichigo agreed as he took his own stance. "I guess there is."

There was only a single second of silence between the two warriors before Freddy made the first move, reeling his right arm back like a whip and sending it at Ichigo. The Substitute Shinigami casually blocked each and every one of the attacks with Zangetsu before flash-stepping to Freddy's left and taking a swing at him. Freddy managed to bring his hand back in time to block Ichigo's blades with his own, only to be launched into the nearby building by the force of Ichigo's swing. The Springwood Slasher hit the building hard enough for the wall to cave in and tumbled inside along with the debris.

"Kids these days." He muttered as he quickly got back to his feet and faced Ichigo."No respect."

Freddy launched his bladed hand at Ichigo again and again he deflected it with Zangetsu. This time, however, Freddy willed another joint to form near the wrist and bend his forearm toward the back of Ichigo's head. By the time Ichigo noticed the blades coming at him, it was too late to lift Zangetsu over his face.

"Haha! Gotcha!" Freddy's gleeful sneer quickly turned into a gasp of confusion as Ichigo placed his free hand over his face and pulled it down, causing a Hollow mask to form over it. The blades scraped against the mask, creating a few cracks but otherwise failing to damage it.

"The fuck? A Hollow mask?" B-But you're a Shinigami aren't you?" Freddy tried to pull his hand away but Ichigo grabbed his wrist before it was out of reach. He stared down at Freddy with blackened eyes and even though his face was concealed with a mask, Freddy could tell he was smiling.

"Guess you didn't go over all of Yoruichi's memories. Sucks to be you!" Ichigo shouted as he pulled Freddy towards him.

"Oh no! Ohhhh noooo!" Freddy cried as he was yanked toward Ichigo. Once he was in range, Ichigo slashed downward at Freddy's chest, craving a giant hole lined with green and black gore. Ichigo grabbed Freddy's face and launched himself forward, smashing through several buildings in the process. It was around this time that Rukia managed to freeze Freddy's fire with her Sode No Shriayuki and destroy it. "Ichigo! You idiot!" She called out. "Those buildings cost money!"

"Ichigo's acting more reckless than usual," Sado commented.

"That's most likely because this time, as well as protecting the friends he still has," Uyru stopped to fix his glasses. "He's avenging the ones he lost."

"Ichigo." Orihime whispered sadly.

"The hell are you all waiting for?" Zaraki cried out. "Let's see this fight through the end!" With this and a battle-hungry roar, Zaraki led the group forward to where Ichigo had taken his fight with Freddy.

Ichigo's flight only stopped once he had arrived at the foot of Sokyoku Hill. Somehow, the hand Ichigo was gripping on Freddy's face got tilted upward so once Ichigo finally stopped, the Dream Demon was launched over the cliff's staircase and landed on top of the hill. Ichigo took a few moments to calm himself and remove his Hollow mask before flash-stepping to the top of the hill. Upon arriving, he was surprised to see no sign of Freddy anywhere.

"Freddy? Come on out you coward!" He demanded as he searched for his adversary. "Where are you?"

"Up here!" Ichigo tried to look up in the direction of the voice but the heel of Freddy's boot against his scalp forced his face back forward. "Look out below!"

Ichigo blindly swung Zangetsu above himself but the Dream Demon had already jumped off his head and landed on his feet near Ichigo. Ichigo glared at Freddy as he rubbed his head. "Bastard!" He tried to perform a Getshuga Tensho but before he could bring the blade down his enemy, Freddy grabbed the blade between both of his hands and kicked it with his right foot, sending it flying out of Ichigo's hands. "Oh crap!"

"Hahaha!" Freddy's laughter caught Ichigo's attention. "What's wrong Carrot Top? Can't fight without your big sword?" He asked in a mocking tone before howling in laughter once more. This laughter was silenced by Ichigo's fist smashing against his nose, breaking it completely. "Gah!" He backed up and held his injured nostrils with his ungloved hand. "What the fu-" This time, Freddy was interrupted by a kick to the stomach that sent him to his knees.

"Don't make the mistake of thinking I can't fight without Zangetsu!" Ichigo warned as he gave Freddy's face one more punch, sending the Dream Demon sprawling on the ground. Hearing the sound of his sword falling back towards him, Ichigo causally lifted up his hand and caught the hilt, all while never taking his eyes off of Freddy. "Although I will say it does help." He pointed the tip at Freddy's neck.

"Ichigo!"

Ichigo turned in the direction of Rukia's voice and saw the entire army of Shinigami rushing toward him, his human friends sharing Zaraki's back with Yachiru. "Dammit!" Zaraki cursed. "It looks like we missed the good part."

"Kurosaki!" Soifon shouted as she appeared before the group.

"Soifon."

Soifon opened her mouth in order to say something but no words left it for she was unsure what they should be. "Should I try to take over from here or should I let Ichigo finish this?" Soifon thought. "I want to be the one to avenge Lady Yoruichi but..." She looked at Ichigo, taking in the sight of the adolescent boy standing over the wounded monster that had killed her precious mentor. "Maybe...Maybe Yoruichi would have preferred it if you avenged her instead Ichigo..." Soifon, caught in a whirlwind of emotions, teared up and turned her face away.

Ichigo noticed this but decided not to say anything. If he needed to apologize to Soifon for taking her prey later, he would do so. Same with Zaraki. But one thing was for sure to Ichigo. This monster had to be destroyed and since he was in the best position for it, it might as well be him. With these thoughts in mind, Ichigo looked down into Freddy's tired eyes and said "Any last words?"

Freddy weakly looked up to meet Ichigo's gaze. He looked shocked as if he couldn't believe that this Substitute Shinigami actually managed to beat him. Ichigo wasn't sure what he was expecting Freddy to do next, but it was most definitely not to suddenly burst into a bout of triumphant laughter through which he uttered a choked "Thank you!"

"Wh-What!?" Ichigo stammered.

"I said thank ya kid, don't you know how to take some gratitude?"

"Gratitude? What the hell are you talking about? A-Are you saying you wanted me to defeat you?"

"Isn't it obvious you idiot?" Zaraki scolded. "Clearly he's thanking you for a great battle. Get your head out of your butt!"

Freddy made a sound meant to imitate a buzzer and wagged his finger at Zaraki. "Emm.-em Wrong!"

"Huh?"

He got back to his feet and turned back to Ichigo. "Don't you remember when I said I've been waiting for this moment? What did you think I meant by that?"

Ichigo only grew more confused with this statement. "That...you wanted to fight me?" He jump a little when Freddy responded with even more laughter.

"Hahaha! You're adorable." Freddy wiped an imaginary tear from his eye with his blade. "Seeing as how you Shinigami are only an inch above Hockey Puck on the ol smarts meter, I guess I'll just have to spell it out for you. I let myself get attacked by your Zanpakuto so I could experience their powers first-hand."

Ichigo's eyes narrowed. "Let yourself get attacked?"

Freddy nodded. "Don't get me wrong. My own powers are pretty useful enough on their own. I know at least two of your friends could attest to that." Freddy burst into yet more laughter, causing Ichigo to grit his teeth and tighten the grip on his Zanpakuto. "But ever since that pretty boy almost succeeded in killing me with his Zanpakuto, I couldn't but keep thinking about them. There's nothing like them back on Earth and even the strongest Dream Warriors I've contended with never came close to dreaming something like that."

Dream Warriors?" Ichigo questioned.

Freddy waved his hand. "That's not important. The point I'm trying to make is that if I'm going to make this place my new kingdom, It's only right that I have a Zanpakuto of my own, and thanks to you bastards and bitches unleashing your powers on me one after the other, I finally understand them enough to make one of my own."

There was gasping among the crowd, mostly from the Lieutenants.

"I-Is he serious?" Isane asked.

"He can't be." Izuru answered fretfully while gripping his torso where Orihime had healed him along with the others several minutes prior. "He's too strong already."

"You fool!" Rukia barked. "A Zanpakuto isn't just some magical weapon. It's an extension of ourselves. A being with its own soul! A monster like you could never understand enough to master a Zanpakuto in a million years!"

Freddy chuckled one last time and shook his head. "Good point but you're forgetting one thing little girl. This place and the Dream Realm both fall under my power and with my power, I can make anything a reality!" Freddy turned to his gloved hand and focused. "Hmmm...let's see...50% of the souls I've ingested should suffice."

"50%?" Ichigo asked. "What are you talking about!? What are you planning to do!?"

Freddy didn't respond this time. Instead, he closed his eyes and concentrated. His entire arm was engulfed in a blood-red light the Shinigami were quick to recognize as his spiritual energy. As they watched, wisps of white energy seeped out of Freddy's body and into his glove, the spaces among the white resembling screaming faces. Freddy's spiritual energy began to grow, spreading around his entire body and then expanding from him in all directions. The earth under Freddy was scorched by the energy, a phenomenon not unnoticed by Rukia.

"Ichigo! Get away!" She shouted.

Ichigo complied and flash-stepped backward to avoid the burning energy as did most of the other Shinigami. Once the energy was as big as a house, its brightness intensified, forcing the Shinigami to shield their eyes. Then, as quickly as it had formed, the light was gone. One by one, the Shinigami looked back at Freddy, and one by one, their eyes widened with terror once they fell on the sword in his now bare right hand.

Its hilt shared the same color scheme as Freddy's sweater and the fuller running along the blade had four lines running vertically through it, giving the weapon the appearance of being scarred. Freddy laughed as he admired his new weapon. "Here she is, my very own Zanpakuto!"

"H-He actually did it!" Momo whimpered. "He turned his glove into a Zanpakuto!"

"This is bad!" Isane cried. "We had enough trouble with him before."

"Holy crap! We're all doomed!" Omeada gripped his Captain's arm and slightly shook her. "Captain! What are we gonna do? How are we gonna beat this guy no-

He was silenced with a fist pushing into his face, its owner never taking her eyes off of Freddy. "Calm down you idiot!" Soifon commanded. "Don't you know anything? All Zanpakuto have an individual soul within them born out of a Shinigami's own power. What Freddy holds in his hand is not a true Zanpakuto! It's a fake!"

Omeada, still holding his now broken nose, smiled at his Captain's words. "Hey! You're right Captain!" He turned to Freddy. "Hey Pizza Face! Nice try! But you can't use Shikai unless you know the name of your Zanpakuto! It'll take thousands of years before someone like you can accomplish that!" He pointed at Freddy and laughed as loud as he could, hoping to entice the other Shinigami into joining him.

They did not and all hope Omeada felt vanished when Freddy looked him in the eyes, smiled, and held up his Zanpakuto. "Oh, you mean like this?" Freddy cut his left hand on the blade and squeezed some of his now-red blood into the fuller. Once it had filled up, the sword began to glow red once more. "Slumber, Akumu No Otome!"

"Gahh!" Omeada started shaking like a leaf. "I can't believe it! He's actually releasing his sword! What are we gonna do Captain?"

Soifon didn't answer Omeada. She never even heard his cries. She was too dumbfounded by Freddy and his sword release. "H..How?"

When the light dispersed the second time, Freddy was once again wearing a single glove on his right hand. But this glove was quite different from the one he had worn before. It was black with red trimming and a red line running through the five blades protruding from its fingers. On the dorsal side of the glove, trimmed in gold, was the Kanji for Nightmare. Freddy looked over his new glove slowly, taking in every detail he could find. "Talk about an upgrade." He purred.

"Bastard!" Ichigo rose Zangetsu over his head and prepared to rush Freddy, only to be startled out of his stance by a feminine roar of anger. That roar came from Soifon who charged at Freddy with everything she had.

"I'm sick of these games! She hissed. "I'm not going to put up with this any longer. I'm going to kill you before you even have a chance to use your Shikai!" Soifon lunged her Suzmebachi toward Freddy's, intending on blinding him before going in for the kill. But just as she was about to hit her mark, Freddy became transparent and chuckled as the Squad 2 Captain flew right through him.

"Aww! So close bitch, but no cigar!"

A searing pain spread throughout Soifon's exposed back as four slashes suddenly appeared on it. The blood flying out from the fresh wounds took the morbid shape of broken wings if only for a few moments before Soifon hit the ground. The blood followed suit, raining down on both her and Freddy.

"Captain Soifon!" Ichigo shouted.

"Captain!" Omeada cried.

To everyone's relief, Soifon did get back on her feet, her left hand feeling over her wounded back. She winced as her fingers caressed the bleeding gashes and turned toward the man responsible with glaring hate. "You bastard."

Freddy only responded with more mocking laughter as the Squad 2 Captain forced herself back up.

"Soifon!" Ichigo shouted again.

"Stay out of this Kurosaki!" Soifon demanded. "How many times do I have to repeat myself? This is my fight and I will be the one to bring this bastard down!" As Soifon screamed her declaration of war, she moved her right hand in front of her to present Suzmubachi to Freddy, to show this monster the weapon that she would use to kill him. To her shock, as well as the shock of everyone watching, however, her gantlet was gone, Instead, an ordinary sword lay in her hand. "Wh...What?"

Freddy chuckled to himself, amused by the dumbfounded look on Soifon's face. "What's wrong bitch? Having performance problems?"

S-Suzumebachi." Soifon moved her left hand over Suzumebachi. "Sting All Enemies to Death, Suzumebachi!" But nothing happened. The Zanpakuto stayed in its dormant form. "What's going on? Why won't Suzumebachi answer my call?" She glared at Freddy. "What have you done to my Zanpakuto!?"

"Isn't it obvious bitch?" Freddy croaked. "Your precious little Suzumebachi fell victim to my Shikai the second I sliced you."

"Your Shikai? Is that your Shikai's power? To seal other's Zanpakuto?"

Freddy chuckled at Soifon's guess as he wagged his finger at her again. "Once again so close but yet so far. Just think about it bitch. You assholes told me yourselves, didn't you? How Zanpakuto are beings with their own souls?"

Soifon's heart dropped and her blood ran cold as her mind slowly began to comprehend the meaning behind Freddy's words. With her entire body starting to shake, she slowly lifted up Suzumebachi to her face and examined it more closely. It was then that she realized something awful, something that filled the battle-hardened heart of the Stealth Force Captain with complete and utter fear.

She could not sense Suzumbachi's spirit energy coming from the sword anymore. Not even a trace. It was by all accounts a dead Zanpakuto. Soifon's lips trembled as she realized what this meant.

"Are you getting the picture now bitch?" Freddy inquired. "My Zanpakuto didn't seal your Suzumebachi. If she had, you would still be able to at least sense her presence from within that sword."

Soifon slowly looked up to meet Freddy's gaze, her burning anger now giving into total despair.

"No. Akumu No Otome didn't seal your Zanpakuto." Freddy flashed a smile lined with sharpened yellow teeth. "She ate her soul!"

The Shinigami gasped in horror as Freddy erupted into more maniacal laughter

"A...Ate her Zanpakuto's soul?" Omeada could not keep from trembling. "T-That's impossible!"

"Nothing's impossible for this freak!" Toshiro winced as his wounds were still being healed by Orihime. Byakuya, who was already healed, simply narrowed his eyes at the Dream Demon.

"What a horrifying power!" Rukia's whimpered. She unconsciously tightened the grip on her own Zanpakuto.

"Guess my girl takes after her daddy after all!" Freddy giggled as he gave his Zanpakuto another look-over. "And do you wanna know the best part? Devouring the soul of my opponent's Zanpakuto is only the first part of Akumu No Otome's Shikai!"

Soifon gasped and found herself backing away from Freddy. She mentally commanded her feet to stop but they ignored her. It was as if her body itself had come to realize that there was no winning this fight. Hell, there might not even be any surviving if Freddy had anything to say about it. Nevertheless, Soifon hung on to the last bit of resolve she still had and forced herself a step forward. "What's your second ability!?" She screamed, her mind running a million miles a minute as it fearfully theorized all the horrible things it could be, none of which would even come close to the truth Soifon would soon know. She got her first clue when her vision began to blur.

"W-What's happening?" She tried to say. However, as her lips could barely move, she only thought this statement out without realizing it until it was already over. "My body...it's going numb..."

"Awww!" Freddy's distorted voice cooed. "Is the little baby bee feeling tired? Maybe you should take a nap..."

"Nap...No..." Soifon summoned what little physical and mental strength she still possessed and fought off the numbness with a defiant roar. "I will not bend Krueger!" She intended to say more but was dumbstruck by the change of scenery in front of her.

She was no longer at Sokyoku Hill but inside of the Captain's Meeting hall which, despite how she last saw it, was now perfectly intact. It was also empty and as Soifon frantically looked around the room, she could not see hide nor hair of anyone else. She couldn't even sense their spiritual pressure. Not even Freddy's.

"What the hell's going on here?" She finally managed to breathe. "Wasn't I just at Sokyoku Hill? Where is everyone?"

Soifon felt a drop of warm liquid splash on the naked skin of her left shoulder and wiped it off with her right hand, which she also just realized no longer carried her dead Zanpakuto. Before she could panic over her missing weapon, however, her fear was concentrated on the smear of blood resting on her fingertips and palm. Another drop fell on her right shoulder followed by another one on her head. Finally, she forced herself to look up just in time for a fourth drop to fall into her right eye. She quickly wiped it off with a squeak and looked back up. Smashed against the ceiling, not hung, not impaled but smashed, were the bloodied bodies of the other Captains, including Yamamoto.

Soifon screamed, louder and more fearfully than she had when Barragan's Respira rotted her arm into nothingness. Even in that battle, she had never once felt the same amount of unrelenting fear she was now overcome with. This fact wasn't lost on her either and, despite everything else, the Squad 2 Captain could feel herself blush from the personal shame of letting herself become so afraid. She felt like a child lost in the dark, crying out for her parents (or mentor) to protect her. Never in her long life as a Shinigami, as a Captain of the Gotei 13, had she ever felt this afraid. And it was all thanks to Freddy.

"Ahh. Music to my ears!" Soifon whipped around with another shriek to see Freddy sitting on yet another throne placed where the Head Captain usually stood. This throne was made of bloody bones and Soifon noticed a pile of legless animals at Freddy's feet. Whether they were snakes or eels, she couldn't tell for sure. "Now this is how I like my women, powerless and afraid! Hahahaa!"

"What did you do to me?" Soifon muttered, trying and failing to keep her fear out of her voice. "Where am I?"

"You mean you haven't figured it out yet?" Freddy asked in a mocking voice. "I'll have to retract what I said earlier. You fuckers are even dumber than Hockey Puck!"

Soifon forced her fear back inside and tried to attack once again. "Stop messing around!" She leaped toward Freddy with a Shunko-infused fist and tried to punch him. When she delivered the blow, however, she found she had only succeeded in punching the air. Freddy's taunting laughter caught her attention and she found him on the other side of the room. Growling but also shaking, Soifon infused her other fist with Shunko and attacked him again. The same thing happened and Freddy was back to his original spot, this time pointing at Soifon with his gloved hand as he laughed. Embarrassment, fear, and anger welling up inside her all at once, Soifon tried, again and again, to attack Freddy, missing the mark each and every time all while the Dream Demon made fun of her anguish. At last, exhaustion joining her already mixed pot of emotions, Soifon fell to the floor.

"Hahahaha! Now that was entertaining!" Freddy clapped as the sweating and panting Soifon forced herself back up. Freddy looked at her with the contempt of a king leering down at his lowly slaves and pointed one of his blades upward. "I think we're ready for the main event."

"Main...event..." Soifon rasped, struggling not to fall back to her knees.

Freddy said nothing but pointed behind Soifon, the blades of his Akumu No Otome clanking together as he did so. Soifon didn't want to look behind her but found herself doing so anyway, gulping as she pondered what horrible thing was waiting for her. Once she did, she found herself back outside again, not at Sokyoku Hill but standing before a gravesite. It was raining hard, the water droplets getting into Soifon's eyes and keeping her from reading the inscription on the headstone. Once she finally wiped her eyes clear of rainwater, she quickly scanned the headstone and instantly regretted doing so.

Yoruichi Shinioin: Guess she didn't have nine lives after all.

"L-Lady Y-Y-Yoruichi." Soifon's eyes watered again, this time from within as tears welled up and trickled down her cheeks. All sense of resolve gone and all willingness to fight extinguished, Soifon fell to her knees and sobbed uncontrollably. "Oh Lady Yoruichi! I'm so sorry! It should have been me who died that night instead of you!"

"You got that right bitch!" A familiar but raspy voice sounded from underneath the ground in front of Soifon. Before she could call out who was there, a rotting hand suddenly punched through the ground and grabbed at Soifon. She screamed and quickly scrambled backward as the being that the hand belong to tore the rest of itself out of the grave. It shambled to its rotting feet and glared at Soifon with its one good eye, the empty socket where the other eye should have been oozing chunky black pus that ran down to the being's broken jawbone. Standing before the horrified Soifon was the disfigured corpse of her beloved mentor Yoruichi.

"Y-Yourichi." Soifon feebly whispered. "I-It can't be!"

Despite the fact that her bottom jaw, stripped of all its flesh, was barely hanging to the rest of her head, "Yoruichi" still managed to croak words to Soifon. Her voice sounded like it had merged with that of Freddy's. "You've always been nothing but an annoyance to me! Why did you think I left you behind all those years ago? It was because I couldn't take your fucking ass-kissing anymore!"

"Stop it." Soifon pleaded tearfully.

"You're so pathetic! You thought I was actually supposed to be impressed that you became the Captain of Squad 2? Don't make me laugh! You're nothing but a glorified seat warmer and you know it! Deep down inside, you know!"

Stop it!" Soifon shrieked. "You're not Lady Yoruichi! Lady Yoruichi would never say anything like that! How dare you use the memory of her like this! Damn you!"

"Oh?" "Yoruichi" tilted her head. "Well if you won't listen to me, maybe you'll listen to your family." As "Yoruichi" spoke, she pointed behind Soifon The Squad 2 Captain once again found herself forced to look back and found six more graves erected before her, the names of her brothers and grandmother inscribed on them.

"No..." Soifon backed away. "No."

"Oh yes!" "Yoruichi" suddenly grabbed Soifon and held her arms back. Soifon tried to wiggle out of her grasp but she was far more strong than she appeared. Chuckling to herself, the decaying corpse brought its broken mouth to Soifon's ear, the stench of death making her wince. "You're starting to get it now, aren't ya bitch? You're in my world now and here, you're not a Captain or even a Shinigami. You're just another little piglet waiting for slaughter."

All six graves in front of Soifon imploded, the rotting corpses of Soifon's family climbing out of them with surprising speed. They all locked eyes on Soifon and at once began to shamble toward the frightened Shinigami. As she kicked and screamed, Soifon's panicked gaze fell on a familiar shape watching her in the rain. It was Freddy, holding an umbrella and laughing to himself.

"Welcome to my world bitch." He cooed. "Welcome to my nightmare."

"Soifon!? Soifon! Can you hear me? Wake up!" Ichigo continued to shake Soifon by her shoulders as Freddy laughed and the others watched on in misery. The Squad 2 Captain's heart was still beating and she was still on her feet but her eyes had closed and no matter what Ichigo did, she wouldn't respond to him. Instead, she simply kept whimpering to herself, something that made the other Captains as well as many of the Lieutenants uneasy. These ill feelings only increased when tears started flowing out of her eyes.

"C-Captain Soifon's crying?" Omeada whispered. He wanted to run to his Captain's side but his fear of Freddy and his new power kept him glued in place. "T-There's no way! The Captain never cries!"

"Soifon!" Ichigo couldn't take Freddy's laughter anymore and turned to him. "Bastard! What did you do to her!?"

"That would be the second half of my Shikai's ability," Freddy explained. "Once the victim had been sliced by Akumu No Otome, not only do they lose the use of their Zanpakuto but they're then put into a comatose state and dragged into my original territory!"

"Your original territory?" Ichigo felt his own blood run cold now. "You don't mean-"

"Oh I do mean." Freddy snickered. "The Dream Realm. My own little slice of Hell. As we speak, Soy Sauce over there is experiencing her worst nightmares. Shake her and yell all you want but unless I say so, she'll never wake up again! Hahahaha!"

"You...you...son of a bitch!" Ichigo shouted.

"Stripping you of your powers and then placing you back in my Dream Realm as helpless victims, that is the power of my Akumu No Otome!" Freddy planted a kiss on his new weapon before turning toward the watching Shinigami to his left. "And it's all thanks to you."

"Bastard!" Toshiro snarled.

"You monster!" A somewhat healed Sajin growled.

"Hmm. Perhaps you're right." Freddy said thoughtfully. "Maybe I have been too hard on poor Soy Sauce. So I'll do her a solid," Freddy raised his blades. "And kill her now!"

"The hell you will!" Ichigo prepared for another Getshuga Tensho as Freddy prepared to slice Ichigo across the chest and drag him kicking and screaming into the Dream Realm. Neither of these attacks would come to pass, however, as a giant arm covered in brown fur suddenly fell from the sky and crushed Freddy into the dirt. The force of the impact sent both Ichigo and the comatose Soifon flying in different directions. Ichigo stopped himself from flying back into the ruined Seireitei by stabbing Zangetsu into the ground and forcing himself into a standstill. Soifon, on the other hand, was thrown into the air by the impact and flew several feet into the sky, past the space where the Seikeiheki once stood. The other Shinigami watched as Soifon became nothing more than a flicker in the sky and vanished from sight.

"Captain!" Omeada cried. Anger welling up inside of him, he turned to confront whoever or whatever had sent his Captain flying. His courage immediately vanished the second he laid eyes on the giant antlered monster looming over them.

"Oh God!" Rangiku cried. "Not that thing again!" She gripped her side that had once been ripped away by the monster now standing before her.

"This whole situation just keeps getting worse and worse," Ikkaku muttered.

"Hold on!" Toshiro shouted. "Look upon its shoulders!"

The other Shinigami did so and were surprised as well as relieved to see their Head Captain standing on the monster's right shoulder. The top half of his uniform was gone and brand new cuts and slashes that would eventually become scars peppered his torso. Despite this, he stood proud and strong. Standing to his right was Kisuke Urahara and two Arrancar a lot of the Shinigami didn't recognize. Those that did were quick to call them out.

"Grimmjow!" Renji shouted.

"Miss Nel!" Orihime beamed.

"Nel?" Ichigo yanked his sword out of the ground and looked at the monster's shoulders. "Grimmjow?"

The blue-haired Arrancar simply scoffed and turned away from Ichigo in response.

"Hi Ichigo!" Nelliel greeted in a bubbly voice. "Look! We've brought some backup!" She pointed to the monster's other shoulder. Standing on that were Harribel and the Tres Bestias, the true masters of the monster before them. All four of them were singed and blackened from Genryusai's flames but otherwise fine.

"Did we get him?" Apacci asked. "Did we get that bastard Freddy?"

"Yeah and you almost took out all the Shinigami as well you dumbass!" Mila Rose growled. "Next time, watch where you tell Ayon to punch!"

"Why should that matter!?" Apacci argued. "Who cares if a few Shinigami die in the process? They're the enemy remember?"

"Not in this case." Sun-Sung corrected. "Master Harribel already told you that Freddy was the true enemy and the one to be slain, not the Shinigami. You really should get your ears cleaned out sometime."

"What was that?" Apacci snarled.

"Enough." Harribel's simple statement of command was enough to silence all three of her subordinates. "Sun-Sung is right. The Shinigami are not the enemy this time, although they certainly didn't help matters." She glared at Genryusai who returned the gesture in kind. Some of the Shinigami below could swear they saw a line of lighting between the two of them. Finally, they ripped away from each other's gaze with a "hmph!"

Ichigo couldn't help but smile at the display of childishness gifted by the rulers of Soul Society and Hueco Mondo. This feeling of peace was short-lived. Before anyone could even question just what the hell was going on, Ayon suddenly started screaming in pain and lifted its arm from the ground with enough speed to knock all the Shinigami back with the resulting force of air.

"Ayon! What's wrong!?" Mila Rose shouted. "What happened?"

The Shinigami and Arrancar on Ayon hung on for dear life as the monster stomped around, holding its bleeding hand and roaring in agony As the Tres Bestias tried to question Ayon as to what had happened, they all noticed that the stumps of the arms they sacrificed to summon Ayon in the first place were bleeding profusely.

"Gah!" Mila Rose gripped her stump. "What the hell's going on?"

"I don't know!" Apacci followed suit. "But it fucking hurts!"

"Ayon!" Sun-Sung cried as their pet fell to his knees, let out one final howl of agony, and fell face down to the ground. Everyone was knocked off of Ayon's shoulders on either side.

"Crap!" Ichigo rushed toward where Nelliel was falling. "Hold on Nel! I'll save-MMMPH!" His heroic declaration was cut off by Nelliel's breast slamming against his face as she fell on top of him. Grimmjow and Genryusai both landed on their feet while Kisuke slammed into the ground head-first, hard enough to wedge himself into the earth.

"Not again!" He whined as his feet wiggled helplessly in the air. Sighing, the Head Captain causally pulled him out of the ground like a farmer would a carrot.

Meanwhile, Ayon's body began to rapidly decay until it was nothing but a mess of fur and bone. Harribel picked herself off the ground and watched the process unfold with horror. "Girls!" She cried out. "Girls! Are you alright?" She frantically looked for them, spotted all three of them laying next to each other, and rushed over to their side. She grabbed Apacci's shoulders and tried to shake her awake. "Wake up!" She pleaded.

"No...Please Master Harribel..." Apacci whimpered. "Please don't leave us..."

"I'm not leaving you! I'm right here! Please look at me!" Harribel's heart continued to sink as all three of her precious fraccion began to mumble and cry in their forced sleep.

"Is it because we lost?" Mila Rose asked as a single tear escaped her left eye. "We can get stronger! I swear!"

"Is it because we always fight?" Sun-Sung inquired as tears flowed from both of her closed eyes. "It's all my fault! Please forgive me!"

"What's going on?" Harribel cried as forced herself back up, her gaze never leaving her fallen entourage. "Why won't they wake up!?"

"Ahhhh! Now that's what I'm talking about." All eyes turned to Freddy as he stepped out of the crater and dusted himself off. "Three souls for the price of one! Talk about a deal! Hahahaha!"

"Souls? What are you talking about!?" Harribel aggressively inquired. "What have you done to my subordinates!?"

"It's his Shikai." Ichigo answered as he crawled out from under Nelliel. "Akumu No Otome. It steals the soul of your Zanpakuto and then traps you in a neverending nightmare! He already did it to Captain Soifon before you got here!"

"Neverending nightmare?" Harribel repeated as she looked back to her suffering subordinates and then to Freddy. "You vile monster! I'll make you pay for this!" Harribel started to approach Freddy but couldn't even get a foot closer before she felt her wounds flare up. Grunting, she held onto her side. This agonized display did not go unnoticed by Freddy.

"Better watch yourself princess!" He warned gleefully. "You don't wanna get burned again do ya?"

"Damn you!" Harribel cursed as Genryusai began his own march toward Freddy.

"A Shikai that devours the soul of one's Zanpakuto before banishing them to their own personal Hell. What a cruel ability!"

Freddy snickered. "Old fart, you haven't even begun to see the extent of my cruelty!" Freddy erupted into maniacal laughter once again but this time, it was silenced by a single glare from the approaching Head Captain. It was a glare of sheer anger and intent to destroy. Even someone like Freddy could not help but feel afraid of it.

"Funny," Genryusai mused as he lifted up his unsheathed sword. "I was just about to say the same thing to you! Burn All Things in The Universe to Ashes, Ryu-

And then a bell chimed. The bell could be heard by Ichigo and everyone around him but none of them recognized it. From the group, however, Renji and Rukia were able to recognize the two shapes making their way toward the Head Captain from up the hill.

"Head Captain! Look out!" Renji shouted.

Atama and Harekuin suddenly leaped at Yamamoto from behind, the former looking to decapitate him in one fell swoop. Chojiro, who had been among the group, flash-stepped behind his Captain and blocked Atama's blade with his own. Harekuin landed in front of the Head Captain, giggling uncontrollably all the while. "Hey Gramps," She chirped. "What's wrong? Can't call out your Zanpakuto?"

Freddy smiled. "Took you assholes long enough." He then noticed that Tsuyoi wasn't with them. "Hmm. Guess the big guy bit the dust huh?"

Both Atama and Harekuin nodded sadly. "I've already stored his corpse somewhere safe for you later Master Freddy."

"Excellent."

Genryusai glanced back at his sword and called out to it. Although he was able to finish the call this time, the sword did not respond. "I see." He grumbled. "So your underlings also possess the ability to seal away a Zanpakuto's ability. Are you really that afraid of our power?" There was a hint of amusement in Genryusai's voice and Freddy seemed to recognize it as he only responded with a low growl. Genryusai turned toward Atama and Chojiro and punched the former away from the latter with his single arm. The Arrancar was sent flying to the far edge of the hill, the protrusion from his nose completely shattered.

"Atama!" Harekuin cried.

"Gah! Damn you!" Atama cried as he got back to his feet.

Genryusai scoffed. "Don't think that taking away the use of my Zanpakuto will be enough to defeat me!" Yamamoto began to surround himself with spiritual pressure so intense, it made Harekuin jump away in fright. "It is time to end this nonsense!" Genryusai roared as he prepared to lunge at Atama. It was at that moment that the Head Captain felt a sharp pain on his back, followed by the warm trickle of blood flowing from that same spot. Thinking that the female Arrancar must have sliced him with her scythe, he turned to give her the first taste of his energy-infused fist. Instead of seeing her flee or going in for another slice, however, he watched as Freddy's extended arm whipped back to its master's side, his blood flying off of the claw-like blades.

"Should have watched you back old man!" Freddy taunted as he held up the bloody blades to his face and laughed.

"He got me." Genryusai thought as he felt the soul within his blade vanish and himself begin to lose consciousness "Dammit!" With that final waking thought, Genryusai drifted off into the Dream Realm while remaining on his two feet.

"Captain!" Chojiro screamed as he tried to unsheathe his sword. Taking a page from his own master, Atama cut down the Vice-Captain of Squad 1 from the back, prompting insidious laughter from Harekuin.

"No!" Omeada shouted. "The Head Captain and Lieutenant Sasakibe! They've both been defeated!"

"You cowardly bastards!" Ichigo screamed from where he stood, his words meant for both Freddy and his cronies. "Attacking from the back? Don't you have any honor!?"

"Honor is for bitches!" Harekuin replied as she charged at Ichigo with her scythe. "Now die!"

Ichigo prepared to block the attack but Nelliel beat him to the punch, jumping in front of him just in the nick of time. "Nel!"

"You traitor!" Harekuin spat. "You dare protect the Shinigami!?"

"I do! He's my dear friend and I will not allow you or your master to hurt him!" Nelliel forced Harekuin back and turned to Ichigo with a warm smile. "Don't worry Ichigo. I'll protect you no matter what!"

"Nel." Ichigo breathed.

Nelliel returned her attention to the Arrancar before her and lifted up her own blade. "Now we-

*P O O F*

The small child that had once been Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck fell on the floor with a thud, her white leotard replaced with a brown sack-like dress. No one, not even Freddy, could think of a thing to say as the child picked herself up and looked around.

"Oh no!" She teared up. "Nel ran out of time again!"

"Crap!" Ichigo shouted. "This isn't good!"

Once Harekuin was finally able to comprehend the situation, she burst into laughter and pointed at Nel. "You've gotta be fucking kidding me! You just turned into a toddler for no reason! Hahahaha!"

Atama simply remained perplexed by the situation. "Master Freddy, is this your doing?" He asked in an uncertain voice. Freddy's only response was to shrug.

Once Harekuin was finished laughing, she picked up her scythe and prepared to slash Nel. "Oh well. Time to die." Harekuin brought her scythe down on Nel but her blade was blocked again, this time by Ichigo who took Nel in his arms and flash-stepped away.

"Don't worry Nel! I got you!"

"I-Itsygo!" Nel whined.

Harribel got back to her feet, still holding her wound. "This is bad. I'm too wounded from my fight with the Head Shinigami to fend them off."

"Grind, Pantera!" Grimmjow shouted at his Zanpakuto to no avail. "Dammit! That winged bastard sealed my Pantera as well!"

Atama and Harekuin laughed at the other Arrancar's misfortune. "What a sorry state to see the former Queen of Hueco Mundo." The latter teased. "But if you beg for it, maybe we can find a place for you in Master Freddy's harem."

"I'd rather die." Harribel hissed.

"And I suppose you wouldn't be interested in becoming a foot soldier in Freddy's army, would you?" Atama asked Grimmjow.

The blue-haired Arrancar laughed in response. "I'm no one's foot soldier, not even Harribel's." He sheathed his sword and put up his fist. "I'm the king!"

"This is bad," Kisuke commented.

"I agree." Ichigo nodded as he held up his sword. "Still we have to fight!"

"Hold on Ichigo!" Rukia shouted from the group. "We're coming!"

"I don't think so!" Freddy growled as he put his arm into whip mode and lashed it out toward Rukia, intending to slice her with Akumu No Otome. Before the blades could leave their mark, Byakuya suddenly flash-stepped in front of his adoptive sister and let himself be sliced in her stead. The whole ordeal lasted three seconds but Rukia needed five more to fully comprehend what had just happened.

"Nii-Sama!" She cried.

"Rukia...Rukia I..." Byakuya grunted in pain as his eyes went blank. Rukia, Renji, and the others watched in horror as the spirit energy from Senbonzakura was sucked from its blade and into Akumu No Otome.

"Captain!" Renji turned his glare of rage toward Freddy and unsheathed his Zanpakuto. "That's it! I don't care how strong he is! That bastard's gonna pay!"

"Wait Renji!" Rukia pleaded.

But it was too late. Freddy had already whipped his noodle-like arm at the Shinigami group several times, slicing almost half of everyone there. Renji, Isane, Iba, Ukitake, Rose, and Rangiku were all hit by Freddy's demonic bastardization of the Zanpakuto. The souls of all their Zanpakuto were consumed by said bastardization and all but the Captains fell to the floor. Byakuya, Rose, and Ukitake all remained on their feet as they drifted off into an eternal nightmare. The ones remaining tried in unsuccessful desperation to wake them.

"Captain Ukitake!"

Rangiku! Wake up!"

"Isane..."

It was in this already dire moment that Shunsui noticed the spiritual pressure of almost countless Arrancar heading their way. Freddy noticed it as well and smiled with sinister glee as he took in the horrified faces of the Shinigami before him. "Looks like the cavalry has arrived." He taunted. "My cavalry!"

The usually calm and relaxed Shunsui suddenly shouted in a voice quite unlike himself. "We need to retreat! We're outnumbered and he's too strong! We have to fall back!" He turned to Retsu. "Summon Minazuki and get us out of here!"

"Are you insane!?" Retsu barked, losing her usual composure as Shunsui was. "Even if it only to carry the injured, Minazuki couldn't possibly support this many people at once!"

"Then allow me to assist!" Sajin interjected. "My Bankai should be able to carry everyone that Minazuki can not!"

"Captain Komamura." Retsu whispered.

"As if I'd let you assholes escape!" Freddy prepared to crack his whip-like arm at the Shinigami again when Kisuke suddenly appeared before him. Without saying a word, he tossed a small cube-shaped object at Freddy's feet. The Springwood Slasher was only allowed enough time to give the object a quizzical look before it suddenly exploded. The energy released from the explosion formed a Kido box around Freddy and shrank, forcing the Dream Demon to curl up into a ball.

"Mistah K!" Harekuin cried out.

"Master!" Atama joined in. The two Arrancar abandoned their fights and rushed to their master's side as Urahara turned to the remaining Captains. "Quickly, while they're distracted! We have a few seconds at most!"

"Right!" Sajin unsheathed his Zanpakuto. "Bankai! Kokujo Tengen Myo'o!"

Retsu followed suit with her Shikai and with the help of the remaining Shinigami, everyone hit with Akumu No Otome was placed on or in Minazuki. Afterward, everyone climbed onto the shoulders of Sajin's armored giant. With the situation as dire as it was, no one batted an eye when Ichigo appeared with the Arrancar in tow. Harribel's fraccion was placed on Minizuki alongside the dreaming Shinigami and she, Grimmjow, and Nel climbed on top of Tenken. As this was happening, Harekuin was cutting through the Kido box with her Majo as fast and as hard as she could.

"Come on! You stupid box! Gah! What the fuck is this thing made of anyway!" With one final slash, she finally managed to break the box, freeing Freddy. "Mistah K!"

"Master Freddy!" Atama fretted. "Are you alright!?"

Freddy casually stretched his limbs as if he had just gotten out of bed. "Damn was it cramped in there or what!? Now I know how that Prince Albert guy feels!"

Both Arrancar chuckled at their master's corny joke but their laughter was cut short by the sound of giant footsteps running away from them. They and Freddy watched as Tenken and Minazuki carried everyone away from the hill just as the Arrancar army showed up.

"Dammit!" One of them shouted. "They're getting away!"

"After them!"

"They're weak! Let's kill them while we can!"

"No!" Freddy roared, silencing the Arrancar who knew how strong Freddy could be due to seeing him open the Garganta. Atama and Harekuin were taken aback by this.

"Master Freddy! Shouldn't we go after the Shinigami while they're weak?"

Freddy shook his head. "Nah. Let them go for now. It's not like they have any place to run to or any reinforcements to seek out." He flashed another evil grin. "Besides, don't you think it's more fun to leave them alive while they're good and scared, having been forced to run away with their tails between their legs? I don't know about you but I prefer to play with my food a little before making the killing bite!" He clinked his blades as he said this.

"I see." Atama smiled. "You are quite a sadistic man Master Freddy."

"That's why you're the best!" Harekuin chirped. "Three cheers for Master Freddy!"

The other Arrancar did indeed cheer for Freddy, much more than three times in fact.

"Freddy! Freddy! Freddy! Freddy!"

Freddy relished in the worship he was receiving He never felt more powerful in his entire life than he did now. And he had no intention of stopping. Oh no. This was just the beginning.

"What are your orders, Master Freddy?" Atama asked.

"Bring me Tsuyoi's corpse and a couple of dead Shinigami while you're at it. I need a new throne."

"Of course."

As Atama left, Harekuin approached Freddy. "I don't mean to question you Mistah K, but just what are we gonna do about the Shinigami?"

"Wait them out of course," Freddy explained. "It's like I said, they don't have anywhere to run or anyone to turn to for help. They'll have to try to fight me if they want to get out of this alive." Freddy snickered as he admired his new glove once more, a glove now gorged with the souls of several Zanpakuto. "And when they do, I'll be ready. Hahaha!"

"I'm telling you Kris. This is a bad idea!"

"And I'm telling you, it's not up to you!"

Soifon wasn't sure where these two voices were coming from but after the horrible nightmares she endured not too long ago, she found a strange relief in them. She could only see blackness and kept wondering to herself when her next nightmare would begin. Were the voices a prelude to that nightmare?

"We've seen how these Shinigami treat humans like us!" The male voice argued. "She'll probably kill us the second she wakes up."

"You dumbass! Didn't you see how she fell from the sky? Even if she did want to hurt us, I doubt she could do it in her current condition."

"Current condition...wake up...what are they talking about?" Soifon meant to only peer closer into the darkness to try and hear the voices better, to see if she could better understand what they were saying. In doing so, she ended up opening her eyes and wincing as sunlight attacked her pupils. She felt a spasm of pain throughout her body as she moved and when she used her hand to block out the sunlight, she noticed it had been bandaged up.

Cautiously, she sat up and examined herself. Her Keisen uniform was gone, replaced by a kimono fitting for someone living in the Rukongai Her other limbs had been bandaged up as well and as she looked around, she could see she was inside a small wooden hut one would find in the Rukongai.

"I guess I'm in the Rukongai." She thought as her eyes fell on two people sitting across the room from where she lay. One was a young blonde man with a rather intense face. He seemed to glare at Soifon and wore a grey kimono. Next to him was a young girl, also blonde with blue eyes. She seemed a lot more relaxed than her friend and wore a blue kimono.

"You're finally awake!" She beamed. "You had one heck of a fall."

"Who are you?" Soifon demanded, shocking the girl a little but not the boy. "Where am I? What have you do-Gah!" Soifon tried to get up as she interrogated the girl, only for another spasm of pain to force her back down.

"You shouldn't move around too much!" The girl warned. "You're still hurt pretty badly."

"I told you this was a bad idea." The man repeated. "We clean her wounds, bring her inside and what's the first thing she does when she wakes up? Starts grilling us for info."

The blonde girl opened her mouth to speak but another woman's voice beat her to the punch. "Mark, that's enough!"

The blonde duo turned their attention to the entrance from which another woman walked in. She had blue eyes and curly brown hair with a streak of grey running through it. She was also dressed in a red kimono adorned with orange flowers. In her hands, she held a tray with stew and a spoon beside it.

"I understand your distrust Mark but right now you need to put it aside." She said as she kneeled next to Soifon. "After all, she could be the key to stopping Freddy."

Soifon's eyes widened. "F-Freddy!? As in Freddy Krueger! What do you know about him!? Tell Me!" Another spasm of pain struck Soifon and she laid herself flat.

"Now now." The woman, not showing the slightest bit of fear of Soifon, spoke. "I know you must have a million questions right now and I promise to answer them all the best I can. But right now you're hurt badly. You need to rest up for a bit. Here." She set the bowl of stew down. "It's not much but it should help you get some of your strength back. I'll check up on you in a few hours ok? Hopefully, you'll be better by then."

The woman got up and turned to the blonde duo. "Let's go. She needs to rest."

The blondies nodded, got up, and left the hut. Soifon watched as the woman walked away as well, looked at the stew and then back to her. "Wait!"

The woman, her right foot already outside the hut, turned her head to Soifon. "Yes?"

"C-Can you at least tell me your name?" Soifon asked feebly. She wanted to know who to ask for when she felt strong enough to walk again. And to thank for the stew later. But most of all, she wanted to know the name of the woman who apparently knew about Freddy.

The woman stared at Soifon for a moment before smiling. "You can call me Nancy." She answered. "Nancy Thompson."

(Holy Balls! This has got to be the longest chapter I have ever written in my entire life! And the crazy thing is, this chapter and the previous chapter were actually going to be one and the same! I'm serious! I was gonna fit everything, from Freddy showing up in the Meeting Hall to Nancy making her grand entrance all in one big ass chapter. That's why I did some rearranging with the previous chapters. And yet, it still took me over 14, 000 words to write this. Honestly, I'm pretty proud of myself. Well anyway thanks for reading this fic so far, and I'll see you soon. BSC out!)