Chapter Nine

One Way Ticket

The last thing Varissa remembered was running from the diner. Now she found herself standing on a street facing a house while a storm pounded the earth with hammering rain. Lightning struck across the sky and thunder roared.

An old earth mail-box was inches from where she stood. There were faded numbers on its side that were hard to read in the rainy gloom followed by the words Elm Street and "The Johnsons" was written in black letters underneath.

She heard a loud creak over the storm and glanced at the house and saw the door slowly open. Alice stood on the threshold of the door motioning her forward.

Varissa took a deep breath to calm her nerves and walked up the small concrete path that led from the road to the front door of the home. She stepped through and looked around at the beautiful fully furnished twentieth century living room. A light came on in a quaint dining room to her left.

Alice was nowhere to be seen now. Hesitantly, Varissa walked to the dining room and ran her fingers on the top of a solid oak kitchen table, her fingers sliding over a small stack of papers and envelopes. She lifted them and saw the envelopes were either addressed to Alice Johnson or Dennis Johnson. She flipped through the stack and came upon three one way trip plane tickets to Florence, Italy. The first one was for Alice Johnson, the second ticket was for Dennis Johnson and the third was for Jacob Jordan. The tickets being for Italy made something stir in Varissa's mind.

A small lamp on a glass top end table next to a couch lit up by itself, bathing the living room in a soft glow. Varissa laid the envelopes and plane tickets back on the table and slowly walked to the end table. A framed picture of Alice and a handsome man with a similar olive complexion to Varissa sat on the table.

She lifted the picture to take a better look. The couple were dressed in wedding attire. The two were in an embrace, their arms wrapped around each other and were kissing.

Varissa heard a rustling to her side and glanced over. From her studies of Earth-1 she knew the item she was seeing was a newspaper. It was open on a coffee table that sat in front of the couch.

She turned, picked up the newspaper, and held it up in front of her eyes to read.

It was an engagement announcement dated July 1992 written in Italian. Due to her heritage and studies of old earth she was able to speak and read Italian and several other old and still used languages.

The paper read Alessandro Dante DeGenarro and Alice Elizabeth Johnson announce their engagement. Varissa's heart skipped a beat as her eyes fell on Alessandro's last name. Surely, it couldn't be a coincidence. How common was the name? She was going to keep reading but was interrupted by a voice behind her.

"It took me a long time to move on after Dan," Alice said.

Varissa turned to see Alice staring at her from the living room doorway.

"He was my high school love and much more," Alice continued. "He was also the biological father of my son, Jacob. We had a bond most other teenagers didn't have. We had both fought and survived Freddy Krueger. But I lost Dan when Freddy came back to finish the job. I decided to move my father and son to Italy with me to escape all the pain and memories of Springwood. The distance helped me heal and I met a wonderful man a couple years later. He was smart, funny, and he treated my son and I so well. His name was Alessandro DeGenarro and we were married for the rest of our lives. We had one more child, a girl named Lisa. Jacob loved Alessandro and Alessandro adored Jacob. He officially adopted him and Jacob took his surname. Lisa didn't have any children of her own but Jacob had four and his four collectively had eight and the DeGenarro name continued even after Earth-1 was evacuated."

"You mean?" Varissa asked.

"Yes, we are connected by blood," Alice answered.

"The odds though! How is this even possible?" Varissa said, perplexed.

"Fate, destiny. I have asked myself so many times why certain things happened to me but there is never a good enough answer. They just happen and they make us who we are. Your familial connection to me is how I was able to try to warn you about Freddy, about the danger ahead. My powers get weaker the more time that passes but I projected everything I had. I tried to fully enter your dream, to tell you and your crew to turn away before it was too late. I knew Freddy had his sights on you all and he was finally powerful enough to set his trap successfully. But he somehow intervened, twisted my warning to you and you ended up in a nightmare chased by the red and green snakes. I am sorry, Varissa. I'm sorry I wasn't able to warn you before it was too late."

Varissa was speechless for a moment, overwhelmed by her raging emotions. She cleared her throat, found her voice, "You tried, that's all that matters. But the fact is, he is back. I don't know how long I have been asleep but my crewmates and I are supposed to be in our sleep chambers for four days! That's a long time when a supernatural killer is after us. We're sitting ducks! Are my friends okay?"

"I'm sorry, Varissa, but yes he is coming after all of you. Sadly, even though he hasn't made an actual attack on you yet, he has already claimed two of your friends and another one of your friends barely escaped him. for now. He won't stop until you are all dead," Alice answered solemnly.

"Oh, god, he killed two of my friends? WHO?!" Varissa asked, dreading the answer.

"I'm sorry, I don't know," Alice said. "I can just feel that two of your friends that entered Freddy's dreamscape have been claimed by him. You are my priority. You may be the only chance your world has at defeating him. I have been keeping my eye on you and waiting for my chance to fill you in on how to stop him but he has been hot on your heels. He has been toying with you so far, but you can be sure he plans to strike."

"I don't understand why this is happening to us! How do I stop him? How can I help my friends? How long have we been here? How long have we been asleep?" Varissa asked, trying to sound calmer than she felt.

"Time flows differently in this dreamscape, Varissa. I can't tell you how long you have been asleep. By now it could have been three days or three hours. Running will not work in the end and the best thing you can do until you wake is for you and your friends to take the fight to Freddy. You can't wait for him to come for you. By then it could be too late," Alice said.

"How am I supposed to be able to fight a supernatural dream demon?" Varissa questioned.

"I have existed in the dreamscape for centuries, waiting for the day Freddy returned to power," Alice explained. "I've always stayed one step ahead of him. I died a long time ago but my spirit has been a watcher here...a guardian in his dreamscape. I still have some power and I could have passed it on to anyone if given the chance but it won't meet it's full potential until I pass it on to a living heir.

"Freddy came for me and my friends twice while I was alive. The first time I learned of dream powers, what I was capable of here in this reality and what others had been capable of before me. A girl named Kristen joined together with a group of her friends and fought Freddy, tapping into individual powers. They were the Dream Warriors and they defeated Freddy for a time. But he's like a roach, Varissa. Somehow he always survives to kill again. Kristen was a wielder of the dream warrior power and in her dying moments passed the ability to harness that power onto me and I became a dream master. I was able to use the dream powers but even then Freddy was still able to kill several of my close friends and even my brother but I learned to harness the dream powers of my fallen friends. They are powers that you can harness Varissa, powers that you must harness if you are to save yourself or your friends. If you harness the powers you will be able to pull your friends into your dream and then you can fight him together. Remember, Freddy may have unlimited power in his dreamscape but SO DO YOU! You can be whatever you want in your dreams. Listen, Freddy is going to pick you and your friends off one by one unless you unite and stand against him."

Alice paused, glanced around them nervously, "There's so much I need to tell you and we don't have much time. He knows I've been trying to reach you."

"I...I...why is he doing this? My friends have nothing to do with what happened to him," Varissa interjected.

"It doesn't matter. Freddy is eternal and eternally evil. It stopped being about revenge a long time ago for him. I hoped he would just sit on earth forever in his limbo and pout. He tried many times to trick others like you and your friends into falling for his trap, to help him escape isolation but he was never powerful enough or close enough to pull it off. I fear my presence in this dreamscape and my connection to you may have been the boost he needed to pull off his escape plan. But, the why and what's don't matter anymore. It's time to listen Varissa. I am going to pass on to you something that—

Alice was cut off by a warbling noise that reverberated through the walls and floor the women stood on. Large cracks appeared along the ceiling and walls around them, opening like yawning, hungry mouths. The ceiling above them broke open and flew away and the walls around them crumbled to dust leaving them standing in a dim, hot boiler room. Alice and Varissa stood back to back spinning in circles, trying to look everywhere at once.

"HE'S HERE!" Alice shouted.

"YA DON'T SAY, OLD FRIEND!" Freddy snorted.

They looked up and saw Freddy jumping from a platform above them. He landed nimble as a cat five feet in front of them. They all stood on a metal grated floor. Rows of pipes ran along their sides and behind Freddy a hot furnace burned, the fire inside casting and eerie light in the dank dark boiler room.

"Why didn't you invite me to the family reunion, Alice?" Freddy laughed. "Oh well, I knew this one was special when I saw you were trying to get her attention. It was too easy to let you do all the work and lead me to her. I just sat back and waited for my moment and now you've given it to me. Two bitches with one stone!"

"GO TO HELL, KRUEGER! IT'S TOO LATE! YOU WAITED TOO LONG! SHE KNOWS EVERYTHING NOW!" Alice shouted defiantly back at Freddy.

"Ohhh...I'm shaking in my boots, bitch. Nah, Hell wasn't my style! I think I'll stay right here! Your little descendent and her friends have given me a new lease on life and now that they have pulled up all my information on their ship it will all be part of the record! The name Freddy Krueger will strike fear again. I will get back to doing what I do best and I'll have a whole new planet with a lot of new Elm Streets to visit!" He growled.

"One problem, Krueger!" Alice snapped back.

"Oh yeah? What's that?" He asked sarcastically.

"We won't let you live long enough to hurt anyone else!" Alice said with fire in her eyes.

Alice knew the biggest mistake she could make was giving Freddy time to talk and distract. She didn't wait. She jumped into the air inhumanly high and flew down at Freddy with her leg extended. She connected with his chest, knocking him down.

Varissa was awestruck at what she was witnessing. Alice ran to Krueger's side and reached to pick him up but Freddy was faster. He lashed out with his glove and sliced her across her forearm. He sprang to his feet effortlessly and grabbed hold of Alice. Varissa ran to assist and tried to get Freddy in a headlock but Freddy knew she was there and backhanded Varissa knocking her to the ground. Her nose began dripping blood. She wiped it away as she slowly got back to her feet, silently rooting for Alice to defeat the child killer.

Freddy grabbed Alice by the back of the head and began trying to move her towards the furnace. Alice threw her feet out in front of her and pushed off the front of the furnace knocking Freddy to the ground and landing on top of him. She threw her elbow backwards connecting with Freddy's face and Alice copied Freddy's earlier move and with the grace of a cat she sprang to her feet.

Alice threw her hands out towards Freddy's prone form and lightning bolts shot forth, striking Freddy and sending him sliding several feet along the floor on his back. He began to pull himself up and Alice reached back into her past and thought of her brother. Alice harnessed his martial arts prowess and jumped and spun connecting with a roundhouse kick slamming Freddy back against the open furnace door.

Freddy swung his gloved hand at Alice and she side stepped his attack, gripped his wrist in both her hands, and flipped him onto his back using his own momentum. Alice lifted her leg and brought her foot down hard onto Freddy's head. Varissa smiled and let out a cheer of "YES!"

Freddy held his face and Alice didn't hesitate. She picked Freddy up off the ground and with a strength that shocked Varissa, Alice held him over her head and threw him against the row of pipes on their right side.

Freddy hit the pipes so hard it broke a large one and steam hissed out spraying Freddy in his face. He covered his face with his hands and howled in pain. He staggered back in front of the women, his back inches from the open furnace. Alice saw her shot, a chance to end this here and now or at the very least give Varissa more time to receive the powers and learn how to use them. Alice backed up, leapt back into the air and extended her leg to kick Freddy again, intent on knocking the dream demon into the open furnace.

As Varissa watched, her look of wonder at Alice's ability was suddenly replaced with one of abject terror as she saw what was going to happen. Varissa looked at Freddy as Alice began her descent to connect with another kick. Time seemed to slow down. She saw Freddy lower his hand away from his face, his scowl of pain from the hot steam gone, replaced by an insidious grin. She felt like she was going to be sick as Freddy locked eyes with her and winked. He then returned his focus to Alice and before her foot could connect with his chest Freddy reached out with both hands grabbing Alice by the ankle. He gripped her ankle tight and spun to the side using her own momentum against her, letting go of her ankle as he guided her directly into the furnace.

"FEELING A LITTLE DÉJÀ VU, ALICE?!" Freddy cackled looking into the furnace. He turned to Varissa, "Well that argument got a little heated, huh?"

"NO! ALICE!" Varissa screamed wanting to run to the furnace but fearing the undead dream killer that stood in her way. She had no choice but to watch as Alice's soul burned in the furnace before her.

"Tsk Tsk Tsk, Varissa. You mean girls gossiping behind my back, that's just rude. But hey, now anything you wanna say you can say it to my f-" Freddy began but before he could finish his sentence Alice's burning being sprang from the opening of the furnace and reached out towards Varissa.

A round orb of bright white energy shot from Alice's hand and flew through the boiler room casting the room in such a bright light that Freddy had to lift his arms in front of his face to block the blinding light. The orb struck Varissa in the chest and a white energy ran an outline around her body and then seemed to pull itself under her skin.

Behind Krueger, Alice's burning soul began to rapidly decay like a rotting corpse but in her last effort to assist her descendant she reached out her burning decaying hand and grabbed hold of Freddy's shoulder, pulling him towards the opening of the furnace. Varissa didn't know how she knew but in that moment she knew what to do.

Freddy had actual fear etched across his burnt face as he felt himself pulled backwards towards the furnace. He saw Varissa standing confident a few feet in front him, her eyes turning a solid white. She lifted her hands in front of her, pulled them back and in a swift movement thrust them forward and a bright white stream of light burst from her hands and hit Krueger square in his chest at the same time Alice's soul crumbled to ash in the fire. Krueger swayed backwards, his body threatening to fall in the fire. He jerked his head towards Varissa, his yellow blood shot eyes staring a hole of hate into her soul, the white energy pouring into him.

"I'VE GOT A PLAY DATE WITH YOUR FRIENDS! YOU'RE GONNA PAY! THIS ISN'T OVER!" Freddy growled and he disappeared before Varissa was able to use her newfound dream powers to fully push him backwards into the furnace.

The white stream of light disappeared and she collapsed to one knee, suddenly exhausted. The furnace's fire went out.

"What...the...hell just happened," she asked the empty room as she breathed hard, trying to regain her energy.

Alice's words echoed in her mind. If she harnessed the dream powers she could bring her friends to her and they could take the fight to Freddy.

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Talos stood at the control panel in the Cryo-Chamber room in deep thought. The primary vital alarms were still sounding for Donella, Nyqyilio, and Butch and had been for a very long time. How long exactly Talos couldn't be sure. He had been otherwise distracted, hard at work trying to find a way to assist the crew. Luckily so far their vital alarms had not escalated to the point of being joined by the Emergency Level alarms.

He needed to help them at all costs but Krueger had somehow destroyed his program that allowed his AI system to interface with the neural implant of a crewmate. But there had to be some other way in, something he could use to bypass whatever it was Krueger had done to keep him out.

Talos waived his hand over the control panel and a screen appeared. He opened his index finger again and a cord snaked out and connected to the panel and data began scrolling on the screen.

He tried something new but was greeted by a flashing red and green screen with the words 'FUCK OFF R2' appearing on the screen.

"I don't know what that means," Talos said aloud as he began another attempt at using a backdoor channel to sneak back into the neural implant system of his crew mates. But before he could execute his idea the Emergency Level Vital Alarms for Donella, Nyquilio, and Butch all started blaring at the same time.

"Oh, what in the actual fuck!?" Talos blurted out loud, surprising even himself.

Talos-16 turned his attention back to his screen and with unrivaled determination went back to work. Although now a new plan was growing in the android's mind. He would not only find a way to interface with the neural implant system again but he would find a way to clone and upload his own programming into the sub-consciousness of the entire crew all at once so he could give them assistance and save all their lives. And time was of the essence because Talos-16 now understood and was fully aware that Freddy was indeed turning up the heat.

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