This was probably the third church that Millie and Brooke visited. Hopefully, Arthur Blythe was in there. After all, third time's the charm.

"So, you think he's in there?" Brooke asked. "He'd better be." Millie said. As they walked to the church, Brooke spoke.

"Hey... do you really want to do this?" Brooke asked. Millie turned to her, confused. "Do what?"

"You know, shooting animatronics, freeing souls, that whole deal." Brooke clarified. "Yes. Why? Do you not want to? You're welcome to leave at any time, you know. I won't stop you." Millie said.

"I know. It's just... we can leave... but you won't. You're not gonna stop until it's over because of what happened to you." Brooke said. Millie sighed.

"I'm not just doing this for me, I'm doing it for the kids who weren't able to escape from that dark, miserable death trap inside of that bear."

Brooke didn't really consider until now how much Millie had suffered because of the incident on Christmas. The poor girl must have had nightmares about it every night. "Are you... okay? I know you're fine, but... do you want to talk about something? You can tell me." Brooke said, concerned. "I'm fine, Brooke." Millie said.

"That's what a not fine person would say." Brooke countered.

Millie sighed. "Can we just forget about it, please? We have to focus." Millie said, walking away. Brooke could tell that Millie was in denial about it.

"Look, I know it must've been a lot to go through. I mean, heck, you almost died. I just want to know you're okay." Brooke said in the most comforting voice she could.

"You don't know anything. I'm fine, Brooke. Really, I am. Can we just focus?" Millie asked, desperation evident in her tone. Brooke nodded, realizing that she shouldn't push Millie anymore. She'll talk about it when she's ready. Still, she probably should say something to help her feel better.

"You know, when Dylan first brought you to my house to meet everybody and you had to leave the room, he told us what was happening in your life. We all felt so bad that you didn't have many friends before us. He wanted all of us to make sure you were comfortable, that you were happy being around us. So far, I guess you are happy. He's definitely noticed a change in your mood. You're right, I don't know what it's like to almost die, but I do know that I can help, we can help if you let us." Brooke said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Millie looked down at the ground. Brooke wasn't lying when she said that Millie's mood changed. She definitely felt different around them and she also felt accepted. Besides her grandpa, that was the first time anyone had really cared about her in such a way. She used to be so cynical and uncaring towards anyone else. Now, she felt like she cared about everyone. She was doing this so that she could make sure that Funtime Freddy suffered for what he did to her. Even she had to admit that her intentions were somewhat selfish, but at the same time, it was necessary so that others could be safe from him. Besides, if no one else was putting a stop to this, it was gonna be her. Millie wiped her eyes before she kept walking towards the church, not responding to Brooke.

As they walked past the pews, they saw the priest walk into his office. They walked after him and knocked on his door.

"Come in." They heard a voice say. Millie took the lead and walked inside. They saw the priest arranging a few books on the bookshelf behind his desk. He turned and looked slightly surprised to see two teenage girls standing in his office.

"Good afternoon! How can I help you both today?" The priest greeted with a friendly smile.

"Are you Arthur Blythe?" Millie asked. "I am. Is there something you need help with?" Arthur asked, carrying a book over to the shelf.

"We wanted to ask you some questions about... about William Afton." Millie said.

Arthur stood there without uttering a single word and dropped his book to the ground. He turned back to Brooke and Millie, the smile that was previously on his face now removed completely.

"Why do you kids want to know about that?" He asked in a monotone voice.

"We need answers. We're trying to understand what's going on. As far as we know, this all started at that distribution center you took Afton to." Brooke said.

"Well, you kids shouldn't be trying to find any answers. Just leave it be and focus on school. Please." Arthur warned. "We can't. We... we want to know how we can stop it from happening. The murders, the disappearances, all of it. We're trying to stop it." Millie said.

Arthur chuckled. "Stop it? Stop it?! You can't stop this?! There is no stopping it now! It's too late for that!" Arthur exclaimed, making both girls slightly flinch at his sudden change in demeanor. What could've happened in that place that scarred him so much? What did he see?

"Why not? Why can't we stop it? What's so bad about what happened that day, that even you, a priest, is afraid of it?" Brooke asked.

"Evil... pure evil." Arthur answered, his eyes seeming unfocused. "What is this evil? If you want us to stay away from it, then you need to tell us what it is so that we can understand it." Millie reasoned. Arthur took a few deep breaths, trying to recollect his thoughts.

"When the hospital called me in, they wanted me to give him his final rites, to help him pass on. Now, I see that they had been trying for so long to get rid of him." Arthur started.

Brooke's eyes widened. "You mean... the nurses wanted to kill him? Why? Because he was a murderer?" Brooke asked. Arthur shook his head.

"No, not even that. Sure, everyone wanted him gone just because of that, but the nurses knew that something else was going on. When I saw him for the first time, I understood why they needed me there. He was... there wasn't much of him left. All that was left was charred bones and organs. No eyes, no teeth, no nose... yet he was still alive, still breathing. The nurses showed me brain scans that showed something unusual, something they'd never seen before." Arthur said.

"What?" Millie asked.

"Two signals in his brain. That meant that two entities were somehow in his brain. They believed the two signals were fighting for control. They didn't know what they were, or if one of them was even Afton to begin with, but they did know that it was something very evil. Something attached itself to his mind, his soul. It was... protecting him. It was like it was keeping him alive, not letting him die. This presence wanted him to suffer. That much was clear about one of the entities. As for the other... no one was sure about. They didn't know if it was still him or another... thing that anchored itself onto his consciousness."

Arthur suddenly began to rub his head. "I... I didn't know. I didn't know what would happen. I just wanted to give him the rest he wanted. He wanted to go to that distribution center, so I took him. His body, it... it ripped itself apart from the inside out. I saw footprints moving away from what was left of his body and towards the shelves. I thought for a while that maybe... maybe I had done the right thing. Maybe, I finally put him to rest and that everything was going to be okay in this town." He said, shakily. He closed his eyes and breathed in for a moment, clenching his fists.

"After that day... this town only had one week of peace... and then it began. People started to disappear. Not many people noticed at first. Most assumed the disappearances were an isolated incident, but I knew! I knew there was a connection! Soon, it wasn't just here. I read about incidents happening in other towns, other states... this evil, it... it was spreading... and it was spreading quickly. People believed that it was a cult, following in Afton's footsteps. This... this was no cult." Arthur leaned forward in his chair.

"This was pure evil. I believe it was a spawn of Satan... a demon that used Afton as a vessel. A year had passed... and it wasn't long before I had encounters with this demon. Every night, I would experience horrible visions, nightmares, things even the sickest of human minds couldn't possibly conceive. This demon... it was feeding on the suffering of its victims, trapping them in an eternal tomb where there's no escape from." Millie felt cold as Arthur told his story. Ghosts possessing animatronics was one thing, but demons?

"So, this demon... it's behind all the strange events that have been happening over the years?" Brooke asked, her voice laced with anxiety. Arthur slammed his fists on his desk and started having a breakdown.

"Yes! Yes! This demon is behind it all! Its cruelty and malice has spread across the world like a virus! It's not just killing people, it's feeding on their suffering! It's imprisoning them in a realm devoid of peace! I saw it! I saw the demon! In my dreams! I saw it!"

Brooke got up from her seat and took a step back. Millie stayed seated and braced herself. She had to be brave to learn the truth behind all this. "Who is the demon? What do they look like?" Millie asked. Arthur tilted his head back and groaned in what seemed like pain. He opened his eyes, appearing to be in a drunk state, or maybe a trance. He looked her dead in the eye and spoke grimly.

"There is no survival... no escape for you. No matter what you bring with you to fight her... you will lose. I had hoped that you kids would grow up to live fine lives... but she knows... she always knew. She has been watching you, moving you like the pieces on a chess board. Everything you have done up to this point... was what she allowed you to do. Your desire to solve the mysteries behind the disappearances... your near-death experiences, your need to come together to end this... it is all a play to her. She knows you want to destroy her... and she doesn't mind. She isn't scared of you. You're children, her plaything. You, Millie Fitzsimmons... you have something she wants." Arthur pointed at Millie. Millie stepped back in shock.

"How do you know my name?"

"She knows everything about you. That night... the bear... the metal sheet... the scar... it left something in you." He stated. Millie reached up to touch the scar on her forehead out of instinct. "What does that have to do with anything?" She asked.

"What is inside of you is what she wants. All she has to do is take it from you... but she won't do it so quickly. You are simply a mouse to a cat. When she takes you, your friends are next." Millie was growing anxious by the second. "Who is she?!" She asked, impatiently. Arthur took a deep breath.

"Two green eyes you will meet, you will discover too late they belong to the paragon of deceit, skin like milk shines in the moonlight, your anguish is her delight, teeth like needles lie hidden within her jaws, nothing escapes the reach of her slender claws, her hair and dress bathed in red, the last thing her quarry will ever do is gaze upon her in dread, her neck long and thin, she sees your every sin, a body of steel and a heart of black she bares, through your bodies made of blood and meat she will tear, she knows who you are, what you desire, what you wish for, she is the huntress, she who takes and never gives back, they believe she has a heart of gold, what fools they are, they are so blinded by their selfish wishes, she could tell you that she helps them in a twisted way, that she delivers a sense of justice to their lives, but that would be a lie, she does not help, she only reaps their happiness and admires their lifeless yet aware corpses as trophies in her twisted world, no escape, no escape, she has already won, her name is Eleanor."

At the conclusion of that speech, Arthur seemed to be in his right mind once more. Still, the unsettling atmosphere that filled the room had not left. Millie and Brooke left the room, the both of them and Arthur said not another word. As they were leaving the church, the dreadful, bone-chilling feeling was beginning to drift away.

"Well, I think it's safe to say I'm never coming to this church again. What was up with him?" Brooke asked. Millie looked like she was staring off into space. "Millie? Millie!" Brooke raised her voice so that Millie could be shaken out of her trance. "What was up with him?" Brooke repeated her question. Millie refocused herself on Brooke's question.

"I don't know. It's like he was... possessed." Millie answered.

"What he said about that demon... Eleanor... how she caused the strange events after Afton's death... is that true?" Brooke asked.

"It has to be. He may have a few screws loose, but he doesn't seem like the type of person to be lying about something like that. He is a priest, after all." Millie pointed out.

"The way he described her... a body of steel, green eyes, red hair, and a long neck... that almost makes her sound like an animatronic." Brooke said.

"How can one animatronic cause so much pain and death? There has to be more to this." Millie seemed to be deep in thought about something.

"He mentioned that Eleanor... wanted something... from you. Do you have any idea what that means?" Millie thought to herself. What could she have that some evil entity wanted? The past two months have been a nightmare for her. It felt like every answer they found led to more questions. Still, it felt like they were so close to getting the whole story. All they needed to know was what Eleanor really was, what she wanted, and how to stop her.

"I don't know. I just don't know, Brooke." Millie responded.

"So, what do we do now?" Brooke asked, nervously.

"Well, it's simple... we prepare. We learn how to handle those weapons, when the time is right, we go to that distribution center, and hopefully find a way to kill Eleanor." Millie said.

Brooke's expression made it clear that she was already having doubts. "Millie... I want to shoot a gun just as much as the next gal... but how exactly are we supposed to kill a demon?!" Brooke asked, panic present in her tone.

"There has to be a way! Everything has a weakness!" Millie claimed. "Yeah, well it has to be a pretty obscure weakness if it's on a demon." Brooke countered.

"Look, the sun's going down and we need to get moving. We'll have the whole weekend to prepare ourselves. You go meet up with the others and see what you've learned, I'm gonna go home and see what else I can learn about Eleanor. I'll talk to you tomorrow." Millie instructed. Brooke reluctantly nodded and wished Millie a good night and rode away on her bike.

Millie walked towards her bike, but suddenly felt a splitting headache coming from her scar. The wind blew intensely, making leaves fly about on the street. Millie saw a tall shadow coming from behind her. She turned around, and her heart stopped. Behind her was a woman, a woman that matched Father Blythe's description of the demon that haunted his dreams, that was inside of Afton, that caused all this chaos, Eleanor. She smiled a friendly smile, but Millie knew all too well that the smile hid her true intentions behind a well-crafted mask that concealed an insidious creature.

"You're... You're..." Millie started. Eleanor chuckled.

"WHAT'S WRONG, DEAR? TONGUE-TIED, ARE WE? GO ON, SPEAK CLEARLY."

"You're Eleanor! The demon that started all of this!" Millie blurted out.

"DEMON?"

Eleanor smiled, letting out a small giggle.

"SURE, WHY NOT?"

"You... you did this! You destroyed my life! If it wasn't for the things you did, that stupid bear would've never tried to kill me!" Millie yelled, pointing at Eleanor.

"AH, BUT YOU ARE THE ONE WHO WENT INSIDE OF THAT SHED AND HID INSIDE OF HIM, ARE YOU NOT? IF YOU HADN'T BEEN SO BLINDSIDED BY YOUR HYPOCRITICAL NATURE AND YOUR SELFISH NEED FOR A COMPANION, THEN YOU WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SO CARELESS."

Eleanor was trying to get under her skin, and Millie knew it. "Shut up."

"HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED HOW HAPPY YOUR FRIENDS WOULD BE IF YOU WERE NOT PRESENT IN THEIR LIVES? AFTER ALL, IF IT WASN'T FOR YOU, FUNTIME FREDDY WOULD HAVE NEVER ATTACKED THEM. HE WOULD HAVE NEVER EVEN HAD THE WILL TO LEAVE THAT SHED."

Millie's blood was boiling. "I don't care what you're trying to tell me! Shut up! I don't want to listen to you! Maybe you're right! Maybe it is my fault for being so stupid to walk into that shed! Maybe I did put my friends in danger! But, at the end of the day, you're still responsible for that thing being a homicidal maniac!" Eleanor laughed.

"YOU DO HAVE A FIGHTING SPIRIT WITHIN YOU! I ADMIRE PREY THAT CAN PUT UP A DECENT FIGHT. I HAVE TO SAY, I'M IMPRESSED BY THE PROGRESS YOU'VE MADE. I WANT TO OFFER YOU SOMETHING."

Millie scoffed. "Really? Like how you offered something to Sarah? Or all the other kids you murdered?" Eleanor laughed.

"NO. I WANT TO OFFER YOU A RUNNING START."

Millie gulped, a sense of dread making her shiver. She had the feeling that this was not her fight. She was unarmed and didn't know what Eleanor was capable of. So, she did the only sensible thing in the moment, she got on her bike and rode away as fast as she could. Eleanor grinned and slowly walked in Millie's direction as she got farther away.

With a flick of Eleanor's fingers, Millie's bike stopped in place, launching Millie off of it. Millie groaned and hissed in pain as her skin got scraped when she hit the asphalt. She looked back at Eleanor, who now sported long, black tendrils erupting out of her back. Her smile was wide and unnatural, showing many rows of sharp teeth. Millie kept running.

She only got so far before Eleanor's tendrils wrapped around Millie's arms and legs, forcing her off her feet and getting pulled back. Millie struggled against the slimy tendrils. They had a strange copper smell. Blood, Millie thought. They were made of blood. She was turned around and found herself in the grip of Eleanor. She tried to struggle, to break free, but it was no use. Black smoke appeared around them both and engulfed them in darkness.

***

Millie woke up in an unfamiliar place. She looked around and saw shelves around her. She was laying in the middle of an aisle. As she sat up, Millie looked at the contents of the shelves and the first thing she saw was an ugly bear doll. She grimaced at the bear. On it was a tag bearing the emblem of Fazbear entertainment. Was she in a warehouse or factory of some kind? If so, was it for Fazbear entertainment? As she looked around more, she was convinced that this building only housed Fazbear products. She focused on the noises around her. There were most certainly people working in the building. She just had to find them so that she could figure out what was going on.

Suddenly, she saw a foreman up ahead, barking orders at two workers, telling them to "get the package in aisle four." Millie sighed in relief. She walked over to the foreman.

"Excuse me, sir. Do you know where I am?" The foreman didn't respond to her. It looked as though he didn't even hear her. "Umm... sir? Hello?" Millie said, waving her hand in front of his face. Still no response. A confused Millie stood in front of the foreman and jumped in place, waved her arms in the air and screamed at him like a lunatic. Not even the other workers noticed her. What was going on here?

The foreman started walking and walked right through Millie as if she wasn't even there. A shocked Millie looked at herself. She looked unaffected by the man walking right through her. Where was she? She walked around, spotting what looked like a front desk of some kind.

She walked past it and tried the front door. It wouldn't open. She could see outside though. She noticed an ambulance parked in the parking lot outside. The door opened and out walked a familiar looking priest. He looked like a younger version of Arthur Blythe. An astonished Millie took a few steps back.

"What the heck is going on?" She looked back at the desk, noticing a calendar. She looked at it, hoping to learn the date. She gasped when she read it. July 15th: 1998.

"Did I... go back in time? This makes no sense. Wait, July 15? Isn't that the day... oh no." Millie said in horror, looking back outside at the ambulance. She noticed Father Blythe opening the back doors and pulling out a man on the wheelchair. She couldn't see much, but the man looked... disfigured. It was William Afton. It had to be. If William Afton was here and this was the date he died on, then that meant the building that Millie was in right now was the distribution center.

The headache coming from Millie's scar suddenly returned, causing her to hiss in pain and rub her head. She watched Father Blythe take Afton towards a back door. She went in that direction. Why did Eleanor send her here? She wanted her to see this for a reason. Why, she didn't know. But, she wanted answers, and this was the best way to get them.

As Father Blythe took Afton deeper into the distribution center, the pain in Millie's head grew stronger. She could barely stand it. All of a sudden, Father Blythe stopped. Millie felt her nose running. When she went to wipe her nose, she saw that she had a bloody nose. A confused Millie didn't have time to comprehend this before something else began to happen. Afton's body began to shake and Millie's headache grew worse. She started bleeding out of both nostrils. Afton shook harder, a black, viscous liquid leaking out of him. What was left of his skin began to tear, his bones snapped, and he began vomiting the liquid.

As Father Blythe took a step away from Afton, his seizing continued and Millie's pain grew worse. She could feel blood coming out of her ears. As she screamed in a combination of fear, disgust, and pain, Afton's body exploded, sending his remains and the tar-like substance flying.

Millie bent over and vomited, the bleeding didn't stop. As she looked up, she saw something she would never forget. Above Afton's remains, a black, shapeless shadow hung over the area like a cloud. She saw a young boy with black, curly hair step away from the now empty wheelchair. Millie thought back to Andrew's story and realized that this must've been him.

Andrew looked around. He seemed angry, frustrated, but also sad. He looked around and seemed focused on a robotic dog. He approached it, and as he did, Millie noticed a shadow take shape behind him. The shadow looked masculine and had a skeletal appearance with purple eyes that glowed. Afton. Millie watched Andrew become one with the dog and Afton follow him into it. Both of their souls were fused with the animatronic.

"Wait, if Afton's spirit followed Andrew into the dog, does that mean that he would've followed him into the Stitchwraith body as well? I don't like this." Millie said as her headache persisted.

Since there seemed to be no further movement coming from the dog, she focused her attention on the large, black cloud still lingering above what remained of Afton's carcass. No one else seemed to notice it besides Millie. She supposed that this was something that only she was meant to see. The shadow seemed to move. Black, smoky tendrils emerged and moved about.

They started attaching themselves to the objects on the shelves. The tendrils looked as though they were implanting themselves into the toys and robots. As they did, the central mass got smaller. When the tendrils disappeared into the objects, the shadow in the center was small. It started to take a humanoid shape. The figure walked down the aisle. Millie felt as though she needed to follow it.

"WHEN I FIRST LEARNED OF THIS PLACE, I KNEW IT POSSESSED AN OPPORTUNITY LIKE NO OTHER."

Eleanor's voice startled Millie.

"FOR YEARS, MY WORK WAS CENTERED HERE, IN THIS TOWN. IT BECAME MUNDANE, BORING, BUT I KNEW THAT IF I SPREAD MY BEING HERE, IT WOULD OFFER SOMETHING NEW. I COULD EXPLORE NEW POSSIBILITIES AND FULLY REALIZE MY POTENTIAL. I COULD SPREAD MY INFLUENCE ACROSS A WORLD WITH PREY RIPE FOR THE TAKING AND BE EVERYWHERE, ALWAYS WATCHING, ALWAYS HUNTING."

Millie watched as the silhouette walked further down the aisle.

"THAT CHILD THOUGHT HE COULD KEEP ME AWAY, HE THOUGHT HE WAS DOING THE RIGHT THING BY KEEPING AFTON ALIVE, BUT HE HAD NO IDEA THAT HE WAS DOING WHAT I WANTED HIM TO. AFTON WAS ALWAYS MY PUPPET. I ANCHORED MYSELF TO HIM SO THAT I COULD REPLENISH MY POWER AFTER SHE INTERFERED."

She? Millie thought. What does she mean by that?

"THAT BOY HAD NO IDEA THAT KEEPING AFTON ALIVE WAS THE BIGGEST MISTAKE HE WOULD EVER MAKE. WHEN I SAW THAT PRIEST ARRIVE, I KNEW THAT THE TIME HAD COME. MY PATIENCE HAD REWARDED ME WITH A PRIZE UNLIKE ANY OTHER. ONCE WE ARRIVED, I SAW THAT IT WAS MY TIME TO ACT."

Millie followed the silhouette to the far end of the distribution center where she noticed an animatronic sitting against the wall. The skinny animatronic had a long, thin neck and a red dress and hair. Eleanor.

"AS I EXPLORED THIS FACILITY, I SAW THE GREATEST REWARD OF ALL."

Millie watched in realization and fear as the shadow merged with the animatronic. The robot's green eyes lit up and its body shook as it stood up. It seemed to take a few moments to adapt to its new body before rolling its eyes to the back of its head and levitating off the ground.

"I SAW A CHANCE TO TAKE A NEW FORM, A FORM THAT I COULD MANIPULATE AND USE TO MY ADVANTAGE, A FORM THAT HUMANS COULD TRUST, AND SO I TOOK IT AND BLOSSOMED INTO SOMETHING NEW."

The animatronic began to transform. Its limbs and body shifted to look more human. The clothes turned from simply paint and curves on the animatronic's body to real silk clothes. Its face also changed to look more human. This was the Eleanor that Millie saw earlier. Eleanor slowly descended to the ground and looked at her new form, seeming pleased.

Millie noticed a silver chain necklace begin to appear around Eleanor's neck. Connected to the chain was a silver, hear-shaped pendant. As Eleanor smiled widely, Millie's head hurt more than it did before and she began to experience more visions. The visions passed by faster than she could comprehend, but Millie could make out a few details. She saw Eleanor creating things in a workshop. She saw Eleanor watching someone from afar. Millie witnessed the events that she had read about for weeks. Millie saw so many murders, so many victims begging for mercy, so many grieving families, so many friends longing to see the ones they lost once again.

Millie saw it all in just a few moments. Lastly, she saw every single victim that Eleanor killed. There were so many. They were all in great pain and sorrow. As Millie looked above the crowd of tormented souls, she saw Eleanor towering above them, watching their misfortune in glee, and feeding off of it, growing more powerful.

Millie screamed as the visions ended. She laid on the ground, unable to move. The pain was too much for her to bare. Eleanor was a monster. Funtime Freddy may have been sadistic, but this... Funtime Freddy wasn't even the biggest piece of this puzzle. Millie started to understand that Funtime Freddy was just a machine, a machine that likely housed dozens of spirits. It almost made Millie feel sorry for him, but Eleanor was different. From what Millie had seen, Eleanor was not human, and she likely never was. She was something worse, something powerful... something hungry for more.

And, to make matters worse, it was coming for Millie and her friends.

END OF CHAPTER XXIII