"And since then, I tried to keep it a secret." Millie finally finished her really long story about what happened to her, about Funtime Freddy, about the nightmares, about the Stitchwraith, everything.

"Why didn't you tell us about this sooner?!" Brooke asked, a little bit too riled up about the situation.

"Wait, you met the Stitchwraith?!" Raj asked out of the blue. It was clear that they had a lot of questions, and Millie was more than willing to answer them... even though they started piling up after the first seven seconds.

"Well, at the time, I didn't really know you guys all too well. Honestly, I still don't. We've only known each other for a little over a month, and you probably would've just thought I was insane." Millie explained. That seemed to calm them down a bit, but not by much.

"You do realize that a couple of us went through near-death experiences too right?! You could've at least told me, or Mandy, or even Oswald!" Isaac argued, Oswald making a confused expression as to why Isaac mentioned him in that way.

"How the fuck was I supposed to know that information?! I'm not a damn mind reader, you know?!" Millie exclaimed, exasperated. She had to remind herself to keep a level head.

"I didn't know, and I didn't want to put any of my stress onto you guys. You seem like good people and I didn't want to ruin a friendship that I just started." The others started to calm down a bit more and actually started to listen.

"I just... I thought it was over. I thought I could escape from it. I thought I could move on from my experience like you all did with yours... I was wrong. He got out and I couldn't just let him hurt more people. I felt... responsible I guess. I was hoping and praying to god that he wouldn't come for you, but I guess this is just a cruel way by getting back at me for escaping, by attempting to kill the only friends I've made in years." Millie said, woefully. That made the group feel bad about their earlier outbursts.

"Hey Millie, We're... we're sorry for snapping at you." Oscar apologized.

"Yeah... we were still a little shaken up after the whole giant murder bot chasing us in the woods." Isaac admitted.

"And they had me all panicked and riled up and I-I wasn't thinking straight and I am so sorry." Brooke apologized, intensely.

"It's alright." Millie chuckled, cutting off Brooke before she started droning on. As the friends started to make up, Oswald spoke up.

"Alright, I know no one else is talking about this, so I'm just gonna say it... who the heck are you?" Oswald asked, pointing at Abby who stood off to the side.

"I'm Abby." She answered. Millie sighed, feeling bad that she forgot all about Abby.

"And what are you doing with Millie exactly?" Mandy asked. "I was helping her with the whole Stitchwraith thing." Abby responded.

"Really? You trust someone you just met with your secret, but not us?" Oscar asked Millie. "Yeah, I know it's only been a little bit over a month since we've first met, but I don't get why you would tell her first." Brooke said. Millie sighed. Great. More things to explain.

"Remember that incident a few months back with the whole girl turning into junk thing?" Millie asked. Everyone looked at each other with faces of confusion. "You mean that weird hoax that everyone said turned out to be a gas leak in the school?" Dylan asked.

"Yeah, none of us saw that actually happen." Mandy stated. Millie looked over and saw that Abby was looking uncomfortable about the mention of her friend. "Well, it turns out it wasn't a hoax. Her name was Sarah, and she was Abby's best friend, but then she turned into junk and was never seen again. It happened, and Abby was there to see it. She was traumatized and I found her crying in the bathroom because she couldn't handle the pain of losing her best friend on her own. I don't really know why I told Abby. I guess I just wasn't thinking in the moment. I saw her so heartbroken and I suppose I told her so that I could show her that she wasn't the only one who witnessed something strange and awful." Millie explained. Abby smiled a bit; it made her appreciate Millie more for having her back and because she was willing to tell a complete stranger such a huge secret just because she wanted to make her feel better. Abby believed that Millie doesn't give herself enough credit for being so nice. She hoped to change that somehow.

"Besides, I didn't ask her to come with me. She just volunteered to come along." Millie continued.

"Yeah, I just wanted to thank her by helping her out." Abby included.

"That's... kinda fair, I guess." Raj said. They all soon fell into silence and sat at the table for a while before Dylan spoke up.

"So... where is it?" Millie looked over at him, confused. "Where's what?"

"The Stitchwraith. You said you met it and went into its lair. Where is it?" Dylan asked.

"Why do you want to know?" Millie asked, suspiciously. "Don't worry! I don't want to call the cops or anything! I was just curious!" Dylan asked.

"Besides, I think we're all a little curious about it." He continued. "Some old factory near the outskirts of town, next to that large lake. That's where it's hiding. Besides, even if you did call the cops on it, it wouldn't be there anyway." Millie said. Everyone looked at each other as if she just explained calculus to them.

"What do you mean by that?" Dylan asked. "It's right outside, waiting for this conversation to be over." Millie answered.

"We're going to an old warehouse soon." Abby added. Dylan nodded. "Cool." Everyone looked at Millie like a deer in headlights when they finally processed what she said. Dylan was the last to catch on.
"Wait, what?!"

***

"What are we waiting for?!" Andrew asked impatiently.

"Just give her some time! Her friends must have a lot of questions. Not many people have seen something like us." Jake said.

"I don't care anymore! She's just a dumb, worthless kid! She has no point besides getting in our way! We are so close, Jake! So close to being free, and you want to go on a field trip to the library?!" Andrew yelled in anger.

Andrew's constant outbursts were starting to get to Jake. He tried so hard for over a year to help Andrew because he could feel his pain. He wanted to reach out to him, to offer his hand for support. But no. Andrew would always push him away. Jake would try and try to sympathize with Andrew's situation, but it was just getting harder by the second. Andrew was careless about others, he always talked down to Jake, and he was selfish. Jake had enough. Jake felt something in him snap.

"Shut up! For once, just shut up!" Jake screamed. Andrew fell silent. "I am so sick of you! I try to help you! I try to understand you and feel sorry for you, but you know what?! It's impossible to feel sorry for you! You are so unbelievably selfish, Andrew! I wanted to find those objects so that we can get rid of your pain and put ourselves to rest! But, you don't want that, do you? You just want to make that man suffer! All you want is unrest and pain! Instead of resting, you decided to make your life even more miserable by staying and keeping that man alive, and look what that caused! Look what that caused, Andrew! I can feel the agony! Not just yours, but so many others! I can feel it all, and it all stems from that day! The day that man broke free from your control! It's all your fault, Andrew! Don't you get it?! All of this is your fault! And, to make things worse, I have to clean up your mess! This isn't even my responsibility! I had no choice but to help you because I had the misfortune of being in the same body as you!" Jake began to see red.

Suddenly, he felt rage rise up in Andrew's heart. "You really wanna go there? You had it lucky, you know! Dying peacefully and without any worries at all! I was murdered, Jake! I didn't even have a chance to live a good life! I'm never going to see my family again because of that man! I had to make him suffer! I had to make him pay!" Andrew's voice was starting to crack. Jake could tell that he was starting to cry.

"I didn't know what would happen! You don't get to say anything about being in the same body as me! You're the one in control! Meanwhile, I am always cast aside because you think I hurt people!" Andrew continued.

Jake had enough of this. He didn't want to hold anything back, so he didn't. "You do hurt people! Whether you directly did it or not, the blood of so many people is on your hands, all because you were too stubborn to move on and find peace! Now, I can't move on, because I'm stuck doing your job! I hate you, Andrew! I really... really hate you!"

Andrew said nothing else after that. Jake felt his rage dwindle away, and all he felt from Andrew was sadness. Why did he suddenly feel bad about what he said? It was the truth. Jake rolled his eyes as he heard Andrew crying. Still, he felt that guilt deep into his bones. Here comes that feeling of wanting to comfort him again. "Andrew, I-"

"Shut up! Just... just leave me alone. You don't want to hear me talk? Fine. I'll stay out of your way if that makes you happy." Andrew said with what little anger he had left. Jake felt his presence dim.

As Jake stood there, he felt... lonely. He'd been with Andrew for so long, it was like he was a part of him. That was somewhat true, but deep down, a part of Jake enjoyed his company. Maybe a part of him did want to help Andrew, no matter what Andrew's attitude was. What have I done?

Jake heard the door to the library open. He saw Millie walk out with a group of people following her out. They looked like they were desperately trying to get her attention about something. Was Millie looking for him? Was her conversation with her friends over? Finally, they could go to the distribution center and fix this. Jake almost approached Millie.

Almost...

Jake stopped in place and thought to himself. What am I doing? Jake wondered why he was helping Millie in the first place. She wanted to end this like he did, yes, but was this really Jake's problem? No. This was Andrew's problem. This was never his problem to begin with. Jake thought more and realized that there was no fixing this mess. It went deeper than just Andrew's influence. It spread itself everywhere and was getting stronger. Jake couldn't stop it. He never could. So why fix a mess that's not even his to clean up? He was tired. Jake just wanted to go back to the factory. If Millie wanted to go to that warehouse, she can find it herself. What was Jake thinking? This wasn't like him at all. Jake shook his head. He just wanted some time alone... to think.

***

"Umm... Millie? We demand an explanation, Millie!" Brooke said, distressed. "Yeah, what do you mean it's outside?" Oscar asked. As Millie walked over to the spot where she told the Stitchwraith to wait for her, she saw that the Stitchwraith was gone. She looked around, hoping to see some sign of where it went. There was none.

"Jake?" She called out. "Jake?!"
"Jake? Who's Jake?" Dylan asked. Millie ignored Dylan and kept calling out until she finally realized that they were gone. Why did they leave? Did something happen? Were they hurt?

"Millie? What's wrong?" Mandy asked. Millie turned to face her friends with a look of perplexity.

"The Stitchwraith was here... it was right here. I'm sure..."

"Are you sure they weren't just tired of waiting?" Abby asked. "No, they wouldn't just leave like that. This was important." Millie said.

"What's important?" Mandy asked.

"Didn't you mention you were going to some warehouse with it?" Oswald asked. Millie nodded. "The place where everything started apparently." She added.

"What do you mean by everything?" Raj asked. "Everything. The disappearances, the bizarre deaths, the conspiracies about paranormal activity, all of that happened when William Afton died." Millie explained. Everyone looked uneasy after the mention of that name.

"We were going to go there to find out what went wrong, and how we can fix it." Millie continued. "Why did you call it Jake? The Stitchwraith, I mean." Oswald asked.

"Because that's the name of the ghost possessing it." Millie said. Everyone's eyes widened slightly. "Well, one of them, at least. There's also a second one named Andrew, and he was the one who was with Afton when it happened. I was hoping they would lead me there, but I guess that's not happening now." Millie said, slightly irritated.

Everyone was silent for a moment. "Millie... are you sure you should do this alone?" Raj asked. "She's not alone. She has me with her, idiot." Abby said, suddenly feeling more spunky than usual. Raj raised his hand up in defense.

"Sorry! I forgot you were here!" Abby looked at him with a deadpan expression.

"Look, random stranger or not, if what you're saying is true, and if something similar happened to a couple of us as well, then this is much bigger than we think. Whatever's in that warehouse, I don't think you can face it alone." Dylan warned.

"I have to do something about it. How can I just let something like Funtime Freddy run around freely, especially after nearly killing you guys. Whatever is going on, I have to put a stop to it. I want to put a stop to it." Millie said with a tone that radiated determination.

"More than I want to rip that cute little head off your shoulders?" A familiar shrill, haunting voice called out from behind Millie.

Her eyes widened and her hairs stood on end. It was like time stopped. She saw her friends' faces. They were all terrified by something behind her. She finally willed herself to move. Behind her, standing further down the sidewalk, was the last thing she wanted to see.

It was Funtime Freddy, his blue eyes glowing maliciously in the darkness. "My, my... it's been quite a bit since we've last seen each other, hasn't it... silly Millie?" Funtime Freddy taunted.

Millie couldn't move. It was like his gaze suddenly turned her into stone.

"Aww, what's wrong? Shocked to see me? Good. I always pride myself on my dramatic entrances." Funtime Freddy chuckled.

"You're the one who nearly killed Millie?" Oscar asked, shocked.

"Yes indeedy, kiddo! I'm guessing she told you all about little ol' me? That's good to hear. I won't have to explain it to you now!" Funtime Freddy answered.

"You... you shithead! Don't you understand what you did?! You traumatized this poor girl!" Brooke shouted. Funtime Freddy laughed.

"Oh, trust me, traumatizing someone is not the worst thing I've ever done, not by a long shot!" Funtime Freddy said, confidently.

"So... what she told us is true? You really have killed other people before her?" Mandy asked.

"Well, duh! What did you think this chamber in my belly was for? Baking birthday cakes?" Funtime Freddy said, opening up his chest cavity. The sight of that awful, tight space brought Millie back to that night. It made her remember all of her nightmares and panic attacks she had been having for the past month. She was so lost in thought, she couldn't bring herself to move or even speak.

"This bring you back, Millie? I hope you're ready, because there's still room for you!"

Funtime Freddy started stomping towards the group. They couldn't get to their bikes because they were parked behind Funtime Freddy. They had no choice but to run. As they started running, Brooke looked back and saw Millie still standing there, still petrified. "Millie!" She shouted. Everyone else looked back. They all tried desperately to get her attention, but to no avail. She was still in her own world.

Funtime Freddy laughed as Millie looked up at him with wide, fearful eyes. She remembered the last time she saw those eyes, judging her, taunting her, in complete control over her life. Millie trembled, a tear coming out of her eye.

"Don't cry! You won't be shedding any more tears soon. And, when I'm done with you, I'll find your grandpa and kill him too! That'll be payback for keeping me in that shed for all those years!" Millie thought about her grandpa. He didn't deserve to die to this thing. No one did.

How could she be so stupid to think that she was prepared for this? This was her chance to kill Funtime Freddy and here she was, unarmed and petrified. They were right. She wasn't prepared, and now she was going to pay the price for being so naive. She thought she could stop this madness. She really believed she could not only stop Funtime Freddy, but also help the Stitchwraith end the cycle of torment once and for all and bring peace to all those who suffered at the hands of these countless tragedies, but she was wrong. She was stupid and careless. She wasn't strong. She wasn't brave. She was just a scared little girl.

As Funtime Freddy's large hand wrapped around her neck and lifted her off the ground, she finally came back to reality and could finally hear her friends calling her name. Her friends... they were going to die too... she couldn't save them either... or could she? Maybe, it wasn't over yet. She wasn't prepared, but maybe next time, she might have a chance to kill Funtime Freddy. She just had to have hope, she had to press on... for her friends... for her grandpa. She had a choice to make; a choice to keep fighting for everyone she loved and held dear to her heart, or give in and submit to the madness.

She could hear them running towards Funtime Freddy in an attempt to save her. She saw them hitting Funtime Freddy out of the corner of her eye, but he simply smacked them away, laughing as he did so. She watched them lay on the ground and groan in pain. He shifted his focus back into her. Her time to act was now. She made her choice, and she chose to live to fight another day.

Millie reached out, grabbed Funtime Freddy's left eye, and ripped it out of its socket. Funtime Freddy screamed as he dropped her to the ground. She groaned as she got up. Funtime Freddy was hunched over, grasping at his face. This was their chance to escape. She ran over to her friends and started helping them up as some of them regained their strength and helped each other up as well. Oswald looked up at her in shock. "Millie... are you..."

"We have to leave!" Millie exclaimed. The others quickly ran to their bikes. Abby rode on the back of Raj's bike. Millie looked back at Funtime Freddy. He turned around, sparks flying out of his left eye socket. She also noticed black liquid leaking out of the socket. Funtime Freddy snarled at her. She quickly jumped onto the back of Oswald's bike. They all quickly rode past Funtime Freddy, who took a swing at Dylan's bike, but missed. They all heard his enraged screams as they rode farther away.

"Those stupid brats! That Millie! I hate her! Why can't she just die?! I swear, I'll tear her apart!" Funtime Freddy screamed. As he continued to have a fit, a peculiar woman with green eyes and red hair watched the whole event play out from the roof of the library and smiled at what she witnessed.

"SHE'S STARTING TO FIND HER INNER STRENGTH. IT WON'T BE LONG NOW."

***

As the group rode away further, they looked back and saw that he was long gone. They stopped and got off of their bikes to catch their breath.

"That was close... too close!" Oscar said. "Millie, what happened back there? You almost died!" Isaac asked with frustration. Millie stood there silently.

"You were right." She said.

They were all confused. "Right about what?" Mandy asked.

"I wasn't ready. I thought I was, but I wasn't. I really wasn't. I froze and he almost killed me, because I was still terrified of him." Millie said, shakily. "And I almost got you all killed. I am so sorry." She started to cry.

Dylan started comforting her. "It's okay. It's not your fault." The others approached her as well. "Yeah... I mean, who wouldn't be traumatized by that! You definitely had it tougher than all of us did with our near-death experiences." Oscar said.

"I mean, mine comes in at a close second, but yours is definitely the most traumatizing." Oswald said.

"Look, we get it. That must've been a lot for you to face all at once. None of us expected that." Mandy said. "Yeah, you've been through a lot because of that bear. We're just glad you snapped out of it." Abby said, putting her hand on Millie's shoulder.

"Yeah, and because you found the courage to keep living and escape, you ended up saving us anyway!" Brooke said, smiling brightly.

"That's a good point. If you didn't rip that fuckwod's eye out, we would've been dead meat anyway!" Isaac said, encouragingly.

"Don't you get it, Millie? You were probably not ready to face your fears yet, but you gave it your best shot. If you keep fighting, I guarantee you'll get him next time. You just can't give up." Dylan said with a smile, showing his braces.

"And we'll be there to help you face them." Oswald said.

Millie's eyes widened and she shook her head. "No! I can't ask you to do that for me!"

"We know you want to keep us safe, but we can help you. We're your friends and we're going to stay by your side for as long as it takes." Oswald said.

Millie didn't know what to say. Their dedication was admirable, but were they really asking to help her chase ghosts and murder bots? She knew now that she couldn't fight this battle alone, but did she really want to risk the lives of her only friends? She had to be sure that they wanted to do this.

The choice shouldn't be hers to make. It should be theirs. "Thanks. I mean it... but is this really what you want to do? I don't want anyone else getting hurt. I can't do this alone, but I need to know now if all of you really want to help me. The choice is yours." Millie said. She let them decide on their own if they wanted to help her.

"You already know I'm helping you, so I'm obviously in." Abby said as she walked over and stood next to Abby. They waited as the others continued to decided amongst themselves.

"Millie... I know you probably don't know me too well... but we both have experience with this sort of thing. We were both close to dying because of some strange mystery that needs to be solved. We both fought for our lives to get to where we are now. I want to solve this. I need to know why I saw the things I did. I also want to help you get rid of it once and for all." Oswald said, walking over to Millie.

"I'm going to admit, I thought ghosts of children were going to be the weirdest thing I'll ever see, but I was dead wrong. You've shown me that there's so much much more to this than I could've ever imagined. I was always obsessed with finding the answers to everything. If this is as bad as you say it is, I want to help you figure it out." Mandy said.

Brooke looked nervous and was rubbing her arm. "If I'm being honest, I'm very afraid, and I really don't want to die... but I'm not gonna let my friends go running off into danger without me taking care of them." Brooke said.

Oscar chuckled. "Take care of them? What are you? Our mom?" Brooke pushed him slightly. "Look, the point is, I want to help in any way I can. I'm not gonna lose you guys, not now, not ever." Brooke finished.

"I hoped Raj, Isaac, and I could move on from the whole Plushtrap incident, but I see now that that's impossible and we're not catching a break any time soon. Stuff like this always seems to come back and find new ways to torture me, so might as well fight it head-on." Oscar spoke up.

"Yeah, what he said. I'm with you too." Raj said. "I'm probably gonna die, but I'm gonna stand by my friends, so to hell with it." Isaac said.

"Millie... after our argument before Christmas break... I was hoping you would come to your senses and realize what you did... and look how right I was. Look at how far you've come. I'm proud of you, Millie. I really am. I know I don't understand what's going on, but I'm going to help you fight this." Dylan said, confidently. Millie smiled. They all wanted to stand by her and make sure she saw this through to the end.

She didn't know what else to say. She was amazed by their commitment to this. It made her smile knowing that she had finally found true friends. This time, she knew that her friends weren't going to leave her. She knew the risks. She knew that they might lose, but so what? Someone had to fight this, and if it was going to be a bunch of reckless, goofy, and very stupid teenagers, so be it.

"Thank you. All of you. This means... a lot to me. Just... please... watch yourselves and be careful." Millie said.

"We will. We'll always have each other's backs, don't ever forget that, you hear me?" Brooke said. They all stood in a circle and put their hands in the middle. Once this was done, there was no going back. They were either doing this together, or they weren't going to do it at all. They all threw their hands in the air. Now that the moment was over, all they could do now was prepare.

***

As Millie walked through the front door of her grandpa's house, she didn't hear him. She walked into the dining room and looked around. She saw him taking a nap on the recliner in the living room. He looked so peaceful. Who was she kidding? He was always peaceful, even when he was awake. He brought so much light and joy to her life, it made her wonder why she was mean to him in the first place. She didn't want to think about that. That was the old Millie. That part of her life was over. She walked over to him and put a nearby blanket over him.

"Goodnight, grandpa." She whispered. Millie went upstairs. She needed to rest. She had a lot of work to do tomorrow. For once, school wouldn't be the worst thing she had to endure.

END OF CHAPTER XXI