Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

"Stupid conference. Stupid Steve. Stupid Springwood."

Resorting to breaking and entering was not what Maggie Burroughs had planned when she came back to Springwood. However, desperate times called for desperate measures. Technically, it was her house anyway. Sure, it was creepy beyond all belief, but it was better than the seedy motel in town. Maggie opened the door and immediately felt a cool chill hit her. It was the middle of summer, but she was shivering.

"Heat must be out,"she said to herself.

She knew exactly where to go to fix the heat. However, the was no way in hell she was going to the basement. She didn't even want think about how many bad memories would be brought up if she went. She shook her head and started upstairs.

"Get a grip Maggie. He's dead. You blew him up yourself."

Thanks to her internal pep talk, she missed seeing the burnt face watching her in the mirror.

The upstairs part of the house was warmer than the downstairs thankfully. It was cleaner as well. A few things had been left behind since the last family had moved out. It looked as if they left in a rush. She couldn't blame them. She barely remembered living here herself but what little she did made her want to head for the hills.

Maggie found the master bedroom and went inside. The room was covered in a fine layer of dust but otherwise clean. She crashed onto the bed and heard a thump. Almost hesitantly, she looked under the bed. There was a locked box with a 4-digit combination. The letters FK were carved into it, and Maggie immediately dropped it. She simply stared at it for a moment until she looked closer. The letters had a slash through them and under it was The Dream Warriors. Curiosity then got the better of her. Four numbers? What could they be?

She carefully reached towards the box as if it were a wild animal that might bite. She slid the disks until they read 1428, and the lid sprung open. On top of everything else was a letter. It was old and a warning. The house's previous residents, Nancy Thompson and Jesse Walsh, hand signed it along with others such as Alice Johnson, Kristen Parker, and Roland Kincaid. Below it was a diary that had once belonged to Nancy herself.

Then, at the bottom of it all, was a worn and crumpled brown fedora. She flipped it over, and sure enough, on the the side tag was Fred Krueger. How many times had she seen him wearing this as a child? A distant memory then came back to her.

She was no older than three, and Springwood was holding its annual Fourth of July parade. She was sitting on her father's shoulders to see over the crowd.

"Daddy, I still can't see."

Her mother laughed and tugged on her father's arm."That's what I get for marrying a short man."

"Short?"he asked playfully."I'm a full six foot three inches, thank you. That's not short.

Katherine laughed."But he's kinda skinny too, Mommy."

She heard her father growl before she was lifted off of his shoulders. He held to him with one arm and began tickling her with another."I'm still big enough to get you!"

She laughed and squirmed, but she couldn't escape."Mommy! Help!."

Her mother stood by watching them and holding in laughter."Oh no. He might get me."

Freddy laughed. It was a real one. The one he only laughed around her. He stopped tickling her but kept her in his arms."What do you say we go get some ice cream, Kat?"

"Yeah! Can I have strawberry?"

Loretta brushed her hair back."Of course, sweetie. Later on tonight, we'll go outside and watch the fireworks."

"Cool!"

Freddy used his free hand to place his hat on Kat's head before wrapping his arm around Loretta."We don't need you turning it a strawberry, do we?"

Katherine adjusted the hat after it fell over her eyes. She looked so much like her father with it on. He smiled proudly at her before leading his favorite girls through the crowd.

He must have been a good man once. He'd worked hard to support them only to make next to nothing. She sometimes wondered what exactly had changed him. She'd seen his memories, but he'd some how overcome all of that and got with her mother. It didn't excuse what he did, but it helped her understand him a bit. Maggie placed the hat along with the note and diary back in the box before sliding it back under the bed. It was getting late, and she had somewhere to be in the morning. After deciding to shower then, Maggie hopped onto the bed and closed her eyes.

Maggie's eyes opened, and she looked around. Her surrounding were that of a boiler room.

"Goddammit! He's supposed to be dead!"

"You should know better than that Kat. Some things have a hard time staying dead."

She looked around again, and there he was. Freddy leaned against the pipes with his familiar sweater and hat. The claws on his glove rested easily on his shoulder. He titled his head a bit and flashed her a creepy smile.

"I am surprised to see you. I thought you'd left Springwood forever after our last reunion."

"You mean the one where I blew you up? Yes, I did leave, but there's a conference here tomorrow. There's some people saying that their kids are having nightmares, and they're trying to legalize Hypnocil."

She watched his eyes widen."Shit! I knew I shouldn't have went after that last one. Oh well, one will slip through the cracks like always, and I could use the time off anyway."

"You're sick."

"Not as sick as you. You're the one that was dumb enough to come back here. Thought I'd raised you better. You've resorted to breaking and entering."

"It was this or the old motel. I'd rather deal with the perverted freak I know than the dozen I don't in that place."

Freddy remembered that place. It was nice before, but it now catered to the scum of Springwood."You warm your old man's heart. You did listen to me. Though, I figured you'd be the type that stayed at the hotel on the north side."

He noticed how flustered she got after he said that."It was full."

He took a step towards her, waving one clawed finger in the air. Maggie then took a step back."Naughty, naughty. It's not good to lie to Daddy."

"I'm not lying."

"You forget, this is my world. I know all your dirty little secrets, but there's one I can't get to. A name comes to mind. Ah. Steve."

"Leave him out of this you bastard!"

"Oh, testy. Is he your boyfriend? I might need to have talk with him."

She snorted."That son of bitch isn't my boyfriend anymore. You can have him."

Freddy tilted his head."Do I detect a hint of hostility?"The surroundings changed into a psychiatrist's office. He sat in an armchair while she lay on the couch."Tell Dr. Krueger all about it."

She couldn't help but laugh at the irony of this setting."I should be telling you that. If anyone needs therapy, it's you."

Freddy chuckled."Maybe if you're a good girl and open up, I'll let you have a turn. Now, we were discussing your hatred for Steve. What did he do?"

"He turned out to be a lying, cheating, bastard."

Freddy wrote something down."Good. Keep going."

"I planned to share a room with him since he came to Springwood the day before yesterday. I wasn't supposed to come until tomorrow, but I wanted to surprise him. I open the door, and I find that asshole with his head buried between some blonde's legs. After that, I couldn't even stand being in the same hotel as that worm."

Maggie whipped the tears from her eyes. Steve's betrayal had cut he pretty deep. She tilted her head and saw her father glaring. She could feel the room heat up, and he looked ready to explode."Freddy? Freddy? Dad?"

His head snapped up, and the room cooled down."Huh?"He'd been think of what he was going to do to Steve and his little bimbo. Oh yes, that bastard would pay. No one hurt a Krueger and got away with it.

Maggie sat up on the couch."It's your turn."

He looked at her and switched places without a protest. She couldn't believe they were actually being civil with each other, but it was better than him trying to kill her. She looked at the clipboard and saw that all he'd dowe was doodle with the red pen.

"You are very fucked up."

He rolled his eyes and started to play with his hat while looking upward."That's very professional of you."

"I like to keep it real. Let's start with your mother."

"I hate the bitch. Next."

"Come on, Freddy. She was you mother."

"And she was also a no good, dirty, bitch."

"How can you say that? She was a nun."

"That didn't stop her from leaving me with that bastard Underwood, did it? I hate her, she hated me. End of story."

"She didn't hate you."

"Then explain to why she left me with Underwood then. Why did she not once come and see what the hell was going on with me. While I was getting the shit kicked out of me everyday at school and at home, she'd forgotten about me and listening to her 'God'. She even had the nerve to want to see you. Saying that she had the right to see her granddaughter. Ha!"

That surprised her."She did?"

"Yeah. Dumb bitch. I wanted you to have nothing to do with her, so I chased her off. The only family I needed then was you and Loretta."

"Then what made you a killer then? You were happy, and so were we. What changed?"

He was silent."Life. My job got shitty. Your mother wanted another kid, and I knew we couldn't afford it. Then, Wesley came back to town, and I just snapped."

"Wesley?"

"Wesley Jones. He was the ring leader of all the kids that bullied me. He was a successful lawyer with a wife and kids. He had the life I wanted after making mine a living hell for years. One day, I saw his boy when I took you to the park. You were on the swings when he pushed you off of it and took it. You started crying, and I got you some ice cream to cheer you up. He'd made you scrap your knee, and I was seething on the inside. There was no way in hell I'd let a Jones bully you, so I killed him. I enjoyed it, so I did it again and again until your mother found out. You know the rest."

"You should make a movie out this."

"As long as it's a horror."The sound of a bell went off, and they were standing in a dirtier version of the house."Time to go to work."He placed his hat back on and adjusted his glove.

"You have an alarm?"

"Only for special piggies. I'm going to have fun with this one. You'd better not try and stop me either."

He flared his blades menacingly, but she didn't flinch. Instead, she kissed his cheek like she'd done before and whispered in his ear,"Steve hates the cold."

He was shocked and watched her give him a knowing smile. It reminded him of himself, and he chuckled. She then walked out of the door, and he no longer felt her presence in his world. He was all alone again except for Steve. Freddy could hear Steve calling out and laughed manically before disappearing.

FIN