In the dream world, Freddy rubbed his hands together like an excited fly as his consciousness returned to the dreamscape.
"Done deal! Roy Black is definitely coming into the dream to find us. Our job's almost in the bag!"
Michael Myers, Jason, Leatherface: .-.
"Can you guys say something or at least give me some reaction?" Freddy groaned.
Michael Myers, Jason, Leatherface: .-.
Freddy slapped his own face, feeling like talking to these three was like playing a piano for a cow.
No, scratch that—even a cow might flick its tail, if only to shoo a fly, not because it appreciates the music.
But Michael, Jason, and Leatherface? They gave nothing. No reactions, no expressions.
To be fair, out of the four iconic horror movie slashers, only one of them even had a mouth to speak with!
"Argh! By the Devourer King, just let this torture end already!" Freddy wailed.
Michael Myers, Jason, Leatherface: .-.
"Forget it. You guys just stand there. I'm gonna prep a little surprise for Roy Black!" Freddy said, rubbing his hands again.
His body suddenly swelled, growing massive like a Titan.
"Hahaha! Let Uncle Freddy play a fun little game with you all!" he cackled.
As he spoke, the dream world began to shift dramatically, transforming into a sprawling amusement park.
The people trapped in this world could only watch in panic as their surroundings changed, powerless to do anything.
"Ladies, gentlemen, and those of you who don't fit either box—welcome to Uncle Freddy's Fun Park! Enjoy the last moments of your lives!" Freddy's maniacal laughter echoed through the dreamscape, spreading fear among the amusement park's unwilling guests.
But there were exceptions.
"What a disgusting laugh!" Claire gagged, making a face.
Ashley and Mary, standing nearby, looked worried.
"Claire, still no way to get out of this dream world?" Ashley asked.
The three girls had figured out they were trapped in a dreamscape, but knowing that was one thing—finding a way out was another.
Mary's question left Claire feeling helpless. She'd only been training with Elise for a little over a month, barely qualifying as a combat nun. Her main strength came from transforming via her bloodline. What could she possibly do?
Claire wasn't like Roy, who'd gone from college athlete to near-demon-lord status in just a year, one step away from being a full-on demon king.
"So, what do we do now?" Mary asked, turning to Ashley for answers.
Ashley threw up her hands, looking just as lost as Claire. "What can I do? In a situation like this, we just have to wait for Roy to save us. I know he'll come!"
Ashley had been rescued by Roy in dangerous situations multiple times, so she had complete faith in him.
Claire nodded in agreement, clenching her fists to psych herself up. "Don't worry, I've got this. I'll hold things down until Roy gets here!"
Mary gave her a skeptical look. "Why do I feel less confident after hearing you say that?"
"Hey! Mary, why don't you trust me? I've been training with Elise for over a month. I've learned plenty of divine spells!" Claire protested.
"You mean those white light orbs that are basically just glorified flashlights? Or those little white flames?" Mary teased.
Mary rarely threw shade, but she'd clearly seen Claire's spellcasting in action.
Claire quickly tried to explain. "You don't get it! Those spells only work on dark creatures. They don't do much to regular people!"
"Okay, okay, you two, stop bickering. Let's figure out what's going on around here," Ashley cut in.
Mary and Claire finally quieted down and stepped out of the room they'd been hiding in to check the situation outside.
Earlier, the dream world had resembled a massive steel mill—one of Freddy's favorite settings.
In the early Nightmare on Elm Street films, protagonists often found themselves in scenes like this: chain-link fences, molten metal, and deafening machinery, all designed to stir unease.
But now, things had changed. The steel mill had morphed into an enormous amusement park, so vast it made Disneyland look small. Over a thousand people were scattered across it, and it still felt eerily empty.
At the center of the park loomed a massive factory, its smokestacks puffing out plumes of smoke.
"Most amusement parks have a castle at the center. This one's got a factory? What, trying to get kids ready for the assembly line?" Claire quipped.
Mary jumped in. "What's so weird about that? America's the only country that hasn't signed the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Hiring child labor's totally legal here."
Mary, the law student, dropped that bombshell, leaving Claire and Ashley speechless.
Ashley could only express her feelings with a curse. "Fuck the federal government!"
Claire glanced at her. "Swearing's not nice, but… fuck the federal government!"
Mary nodded. "Fuck the federal government!"
Yup, in America, nothing brings people together faster than dunking on the feds.
After their shared rant, the three girls' bond noticeably tightened.
Claire and Ashley hadn't interacted much before, but Mary was the link—best friends with Claire and gaming buddies with Ashley.
Just then, a few people sprinted past them, looking crazed.
"What are they running from?" Mary wondered aloud.
"Let's ask," Ashley said, bold as ever. She shouted after the fleeing group. "Hey, what's got you running?"
One of the runners, kinder than the rest, answered without slowing down. "Run! There's a psycho with a chainsaw killing people back there!"
"A psycho killing people?" The three girls exchanged glances.
As they processed this, the piercing roar of a chainsaw engine cut through the air.
A burly man with a sack over his head, only his eyes visible, approached with a chainsaw in hand. It was Leatherface, the Texas Chainsaw Massacre killer!
His body was smeared with blood and guts—likely from the people who'd just fled.
"He's spotted us! Run!" Ashley yelled.
She grabbed Mary and Claire, trying to bolt, but while Mary followed, Claire didn't budge.
"Hmph! This time, I'm proving myself. Watch this!" Claire declared.
She seemed determined to show that her month with Elise wasn't a waste. Instead of running, she stood her ground, preparing to cast a divine spell.
Ashley and Mary, who'd started running, stopped reluctantly to wait for her.
Claire chanted under her breath, and soon a billiard-ball-sized orb of light shot toward Leatherface.
If this was the Leatherface Roy had faced before, that orb might've taken him out.
But this version had been enhanced by the Devourer King. The exploding orb only made him stumble slightly.
"What the—?" Claire gasped, stunned.
Not giving up, she cast a holy flame spell. The flames did ignite Leatherface's clothes, but they quickly fizzled out.
Claire's eyes widened—already large, they now looked like duck eggs.
"Let's go!" Ashley shouted, grabbing the stunned Claire and dragging her toward where the others had fled.
Leatherface, chainsaw in hand, followed at a leisurely pace.
The girls didn't get far before the fleeing crowd came running back.
"Why're you back?" Ashley asked.
A middle-aged man answered, panting. "There's a guy up ahead with a hockey mask and a machete, killing people!"
"What? Then where do we go?" Ashley cried.
Panic set in, and the crowd, spotting a circus tent nearby, swarmed inside.
Ashley and the others followed without thinking.
But once inside, Ashley realized the entrance had vanished, replaced by a brick wall blocking the tent's door.
Freddy's low, menacing voice echoed through the tent. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Freddy's Circus! Don't just stand there—come in and take a seat!"
About fifty people were inside, frozen in fear at Freddy's voice.
"Really? Do I have to drag you in? Fine, the customer's always right—let's get you seated!" Freddy snapped his fingers.
Instantly, everyone was pulled into the performance tent, bound tightly to chairs.
Some of the more timid folks let out screams.
"Quiet!" Freddy barked, now dressed in a tuxedo like a ringmaster. He mimed zipping his lips, and the screamers fell silent.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the show's about to begin! How about some applause?" Freddy snapped his fingers again.
Puppet strings attached to crosses appeared above everyone's heads, forcing their hands to clap.
Freddy bowed theatrically, soaking in the forced applause. "Thank you for the warm ovation—I'm touched! Let the show begin! First up, a beast-taming act!"
He clapped, and the stage filled with props: flaming hoops, a balance beam, colorful balls—standard animal-taming gear.
"Let's welcome our first performer!" Freddy announced.
A person vanished from the audience and reappeared on stage.
"Mmph! Mmph!" The man was terrified but couldn't make a sound.
Freddy looked at him with a creepy, almost paternal smile. "My friend, what's your name? Not a talker? Let's call you Peppa, then!"
With a third snap of his fingers, the man transformed into a chubby pink pig.
"Now, ladies and gentlemen, our first act will be performed by Mr. Peppa Pig! Let's give him a round of applause!" Freddy said.
The crowd was forced to clap again.
"Peppa Pig, let's go—jump through that flaming hoop!" Freddy urged, winking.
The pig, with its stubby legs, squealed in panic, too scared to try.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Peppa Pig, you're making Uncle Freddy mad!" Freddy said, his tone darkening.
The pig backed away, squealing.
Freddy's patience snapped. A barbed whip appeared in his hand, and he lashed at the pig mercilessly. "I told you to jump through the hoop! Can't you understand?"
The pig, bloodied and battered, ran around the stage, but an invisible barrier kept it trapped within Freddy's reach.
Desperate, the pig charged up a ramp and tried to leap through the hoop.
Predictably, it failed. Its short legs couldn't clear the hoop, and it caught fire mid-air, shrieking in agony.
The smell of burnt flesh filled the air. The audience was too horrified to even think about drooling.
The burning lasted several minutes, unnaturally fast for the dream world.
When the pig finally died, it reverted to human form, its corpse a gruesome sight.
Freddy shook his head, sighing. "What a shame. Peppa Pig wasn't so lucky. Who's our next fortunate guest?"
He randomly picked two more victims, turning them into a hedgehog and a capybara—both short-legged, poor jumpers. Their fates were the same: burned to death.
It was clear to everyone—Freddy was here to torment them.
He stepped to the front of the stage, tipping his hat to the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen, next up is a magic show! Where's the applause? Come on, give it up!"
The crowd clapped on cue.
Freddy clapped too, and the stage transformed, now featuring a magic box, a top hat, a cage—classic magician props.
"Wonderful! For this act, I'm inviting two very special guests—the famous Roy Black's girlfriends!" Freddy announced.
Ashley and Mary's eyes widened. They hadn't expected to hear Roy's name from Freddy's mouth.
With two snaps of his fingers, Ashley and Mary appeared on stage. One was strapped to a spinning Russian roulette wheel, the other stuffed into a magic box with only her head sticking out.
"Hmm, where to start? Tough choice! Let's ask the audience!" Freddy grinned.
Another snap, and two buttons appeared by everyone's hands.
"Left button for the Russian roulette, right button for the magic box. Make your choice!" Freddy said.
Minutes later, everyone was forced to press a button.
"Oh, looks like the crowd wants the magic box! Sorry, Ms. Hill!" Freddy said, addressing Claire.