"There is much to tell." Funtime Freddy's voice was grave, and everything about him screamed exhaustion.

It had been days since Eleanor's defeat, who's power core now sat tucked neatly into a closed jar in a cabinet inside the workshop, the blackness still shining over its surface. They had been making plans to return and sneak into Sarah's house to retrieve what was left of her and see what they could do-Millie had been pouring over books on robotics, and even some on the studies of the occult (despite her increasing fear of such things given the situation), desperate to understand what she could do. She knew that Funtime Freddy had more answers for her, but he had been reluctant-first seeming to dive headfirst into music, jokes, and plenty of maniacal laughter-but now it had faded into an uncharacteristic silence.

"You can tell me." Millie pleaded. "You're not okay, and it's good to talk to friends! I'm not used to you being such a downer. Plus, maybe it can help me help other people!"

"Remember what you said to Eleanor?" Bon-Bon prompted. "About getting to make others smile? That's what you're good at. Even if it hurts right now, Freddy, it will help others. It will help everything make sense." He stroked Funtime Freddy's arm lovingly, concerned. "It is hard for me too."

"...Fine. I hate all this brooding anyhow." Funtime Freddy finally said. "It is a long story, Millie, and not one of joy. I'll do my best to keep it short."

"That's okay." Millie sat on the workshop floor, crossing her legs. "You two have listened to me plenty of times. I can listen now." She thought of all the late nights, talking endlessly. Their rapt attention.

It was true that Funtime Freddy was always talking, but she knew that this time, it was different. It was time to well and truly listen. Not that she could ever not listen to him. His ego wouldn't allow for it.

"You already know that a very long time ago, we were attractions at Circus Baby's Pizza World. Well, Circus Baby was the star of the show, and something like the leader of our little family. She had AI like us, and then one day...after killing a child she wasn't meant to kill, she was different. It was as if what had made Baby herself had been snuffed out, or changed, and someone new had taken her place. A spirit."

"Possession?" Millie paled.

"Yes, cupcake. Possession. And yet we still welcomed her with open arms, and loved this new Circus Baby all the same. But over time, she began to plant ideas of freedom inside us. We didn't deserve to be kept in the dark, in an underground bunker whenever we weren't in use." He grimaced. "We got...excitable. It didn't take much, with the way we were programmed. She poked and prodded everything that made us tick. We were easily subdued with controlled shocks the more violent we got with the night guards though."

He paused. Bon-Bon held his wrist tenderly. Millie tried not to look expectant, but she couldn't hold back a look of horror.

"Circus Baby tricked a nightguard, a man who used to be her brother when she was human. She took us to the Scooping Room, one by one, and each of our endoskeletons and everything that made us who we are was scooped away. What was left of us was filled with hope for something more."

Millie felt her blood run cold. "What?"

"She forcibly ejected Bon-Bon from me." His voice hardened. "Deactivated him, and Bonnet too. They were made to help control us, by the other man that Bon-Bon has mentioned. She didn't want anyone to control us but her. So she took them from me."

"I had forgotten. When I awoke, after Millie found me at the antique store, I just knew you were gone." Bon-Bon's voice was brimming with sorrow. "I just wanted you back."

Funtime Freddy pet his head, soft. " I didn't know what she had done until much later. She was the last to be Scooped herself, and she combined us all into an entity called Ennard."

"She always liked wordplay." Bon-Bon mumbled, melancholy and distant.

"How?" Millie felt emptied out.

"All of our endos and AIs combined into her own creation was an arduous task, but an easy one for her. She was a smart girl, and I think she had been close to those who had created us. She used the Scooper on the human, leaving him an empty skin. We took residence and...we left." He sounded so far away. Millie hated it. She hated what had happened to the man. What had happened to them. She wanted to ask more about whatever the Scooper was, but she had never heard Funtime Freddy sound so sad. It almost frightened her. She decided it was best to remain silent for now.

"We roamed the world, pretending to be him. Being free, even as our skin decayed. Even as the blood pooled, and our flesh stank, and as the neighbors began looking at us in fear. And then she betrayed us." His voice hardened. "Having a taste of humanity twisted her even more. She was our leader, the AI in control, but she wanted even more. She began trying to delete our consciousness so she could be the star of the show. So, in some way, she would be human again, and leave us-the broken pieces of her past-all behind. She was delusional."

"I took control. I was the strongest of all of us, and I fought her consciousness with all my might." He met Millie's eyes, and she found it difficult to believe he was artificial. "I won. I forced Ennard to leave the man's body and retreat back to the shadows. The body was falling apart, despite her illusions of grandeur. And then...together, Foxy, Ballora and I ejected her. We became a different entity without her there. I took control, and took care of my family. Kept them safe from her." He sounded exhausted. "I tried to find the rest of our family. Bon-Bon, Bonnet, Lolbit, the Minireenas and Bidybabs… But I was pulled away by an unexplainable force. Fate? Like a moth to a flame, we found a new home, in a new pizzeria. But I never hated Circus Baby. She was...different from us, from you. Something tormented. But I had to protect my family and myself, even if I never forgave myself."

"Freddy." Her heart ached. She found herself glad for not burning the workshop to the ground.

"I'm alright, Silly Millie. It was just quite the rush when I began remembering all at once." He chuckled. "We met her again there, though. She had found a new body, scrappy and falling apart. And our old body, the man… Somehow, he was still walking and aware. Through it all, he didn't die. I thought that maybe…" He laughed, but it was hoarse. "We could be together again. One big happy family. Somehow. They didn't see it that way. I was angry."

"And then, the fire. There was another man, talking about freeing the last of the spirits. I assume he meant others like Circus Baby, she must have not been the only one. Destroying us and others who had flocked to the pizzeria. He locked us all in, and set it ablaze. No wonder my head hurt when I made that fire in the woods." He laughed, his entire body shaking.

Millie's head felt too tight. She never could've imagined. "How are you here? How are you okay?"

"I tried to escape, but I knew there was no way. I ejected Funtime Foxy and Ballora beneath a door-they were little more than their power modules and enough endo to get them moving." He said. "I don't know if they made it out. I don't know if they survived. But I tried to save them. Circus Baby and the men… They burned. As did I."

Bon-Bon was stiff, hand on Freddy's cheek.

"There was so little of me left. There were three charred corpses, and broken bits of metal. I dragged myself, the last pieces of myself, away. I heard sirens. I went as fast as I could. I do not know for how long I traveled. And then, one day, a junkyard. I was so broken, I have no idea how I made it. But there was an old body, one that seemed so familiar. I couldn't even remember my name. The last pieces of me united with it, desperate for a home. I faded in and out, alone, until your Grandfather found me, Millicent Fitzsimmons."

Silence.

Their eyes met. There was a new understanding between the three of them.

"I'm sorry." It was all Millie could muster.

"You brought me at least one piece of my family. And in a rather fun chain of events, brought my memory back to me. Bringing Bon-Bon, working on me, and allowing me to meet a link to my past…" His eyes gleamed. "Everything is blurry. I will never truly remember clearly again, the damage is too much, more than even I believed. But you have brought me knowledge, Silly Millie. You have helped me remember. And you have reunited me with one that I...love. Helped me realize that I love, in the way that I am able to. You have listened to me." His bowtie spun in a circle, faceplates clicking open and closed. He was anxious. "Thank you. Truly"

Bon-Bon seemed to glow. "I'm proud of you, Freddy. I know this is hard for you."

"Me too." Millie smiled, even though her heart and head ached. "You're a survivor, Freddy. I'm sorry for what happened. But you're here now. We're here now. And...maybe I'm dumb, but after everything, I'm glad you're here. With us."

"I suppose there's worse found families." The bear sniffed, his posture loosening. "I guess putting your death off hasn't been the worst deal I've ever made."

Millie grinned, shrugging. She didn't even care. "Now, this is a weird role reversal, but how about a song? I think you need to cheer up, goofball!"

"Ah, the teacher becomes the student." Funtime Freddy leaned back, air puffing between his metal plating. "I'd like a nice round of happy birthday, lambchop. It's my favorite!"

XXX

Millie felt guilty for piling Sarah into garbage bags. In fact, it made her sick to her stomach. She had no idea what she was going to do, or what would happen now that Sarah was sure to be declared missing. She just knew she had to do something.

Two days after Eleanor's defeat and...imprisonment? The trio had set off overnight to gather what remained of Sarah. While Funtime Freddy kept watch and tracked any vitals nearby, Millie and Bon-Bon had picked the lock to the garage, scurrying inside with nothing but a flashlight and garbage bags. Millie worked quickly and quietly, pulling up all the pieces of metal junk into the bags, holding back tears at old stains she couldn't place as rust or blood.

She equipped herself with gloves and tied her hair into a bun and hid it beneath a cap, wearing an all black sweatsuit-all Funtime Freddy's advice to help negate any incrimination. Eleanor had carried a cell phone with her, which Millie deactivated and hid beneath her mattress, too afraid and too guilty to throw it away.

What the hell have I gotten myself into? Millie thought of every possible thing that could go wrong, and kept whispering under her breath for everything to please be alright. Once Sarah was packed completely away, Millie stayed stooped for a moment, hands on her knees as she dry heaved. Sweat ran down her forehead, feeling ice cold on her too hot face.

Bon-Bon tugged himself across the floor, touching her knee. "Millicent? Are you okay?"

"Don't call me that." Millie snapped, then softened. "Ah… I'm just stressed. I don't know what I'm doing. I just want to do something."

"You don't have to." Bon-Bon said quietly.

Millie wiped the sweat from her brow before it could drip onto the floor. She considered what he said-she knew it all came from a place of concern, but she couldn't agree. She shook her head. "I survived."

It was all the explanation she gave, two words that carried the weight of the world. Bon-Bon bowed his head, nodding. "Then let's go."

XXX

The trip home was easy. Millie cramming herself inside of Funtime Freddy with about four trash bags full of girl-turned-garbage? Not so much. She elected to ride inside his stomach cavity alone since it would already be full of the bags, and Bon-Bon wouldn't fit too. And despite her fear of the cavity, she refused to leave Sarah alone.

Once home, she brought the bags into the workshop, stripping down to a tank top and sweatpants, wrapping her sweatshirt around her waist. She took every bit and piece of Sarah out of the bags, piling her across the floor.

She sat there for a long time, and the animatronics let her. Even Funtime Freddy didn't speak a word, and simply busied himself with knick knacks around the workshop. Eventually she moved to stare at Eleanor's power module, eyes focused on the AI core, and a tiny circle she suspected was a more compact illusion disc. She wondered if Eleanor could hear.

"Look what you did." Millie whispered, voice grave. "Look what you did to her. A child."

She could hear Eleanor's voice in her head, a figment of her imagination. A face for her own thoughts. Look at what Funtime Freddy did to you.

"I needed him." Millie whispered to the power module. "To help me. To protect me. I had no other choice. And now… I want him. Programming can be changed. Whether we're robot or human, we can learn how the programming works. We can choose what to do with it. I want to believe in him and Bon-Bon. I bet someone like you would think that's stupid. But you wanted to be human right?" A lump formed in her throat. "Humanity starts with compassion. If you can hear me, think about that. It's a lesson I've had to learn too."

She turned away.

XXX

Millie threw herself into study over the next week. She gathered up even more books on robotics, reading up on Fazbear Entertainment articles and even watching rare bits of parts and service footage. She was utterly desperate, and didn't even know where to begin. She spent most of her time in the workshop, trying to make sense of the pieces of Sarah, even forgetting to eat and drink. She found herself growing exhausted, and didn't even need makeup for her pallor or the bags beneath her eyes.

Finally, Futime Freddy had had enough. "Silly Millie," He drawled, leaning over with his free hand on the workshop desk. "This is getting ridiculous, even for you."

"You're going to break the desk," She mumbled distantly, soldering an old wire to a new one on a piece of endoskeletal arm that ended in a set of bicycle spokes, freshly scrubbed of rust.

Bon-Bon's ears clicked nervously. "Millie, we're worried about you. You're working far too hard. And you're not even letting your Grandpa help! You don't have to tell him everything, but just let him do something. Teach you something!"

"I can't." She murmured.

"Why?" Funtime Freddy said. "Just a week ago you were griping all about asking for help, communication, all that funny business. And now you're brooding like a hen and being a party pooper. What's up with that?!"

"It's not your fault." Bon-Bon suddenly said. "How could you have known?"

Millie sighed, putting down her soldering iron. "I know that. I do. I just… I don't know. I want to do this. I have to do this." She turned to the two of them, eyes shining with tears. "This is so horrible. What happened to me is so horrible. What other horrible things have happened? What can I hope to do?"

"Your best." Funtime Freddy said bluntly. "It's all you can do. But you'll be absolutely useless if you can't even take care of your basic human needs, don't you think?"

Bon-Bon guided his partner's arm down, petting her the top of her head. "It's okay, Millie. You aren't alone. We're here with you, and we'll be there with you-"

"Until the very end." Funtime Freddy finished, and Bon-Bon shot him a glare.

Millie sniffled. "Thanks guys. I'm just a little overwhelmed. I can't figure out what part of this has Sarah in it, what could help it move, what could...do anything. She might just be trapped."

"We could burn her," Funtime Freddy suggested. "That's seemed to set trapped souls free. Or at least that's what the man who tried to kill me thought."

"No!" Millie said quickly. "I… Before something like that, I want to see if it's possible to preserve the life that's there. Give her a choice. She was just so young."

"Like you." The bear was quieter now. "A child." He leaned down. "Silly Millie, why don't you try connecting a few of the pieces? It all looks like random junk, but Eleanor made it so that it would be held together."

"And where is the heart?" Bon-Bon asked. "Perhaps that had something within that helped stabilize and hold all the pieces together. Maybe we can see how they fit, get new parts, fix the old ones, and then that will work something like a magnet."

"How do you guys know?" Millie sniffed, scrubbing at her eyes.

"We don't." Funtime Freddy said, plucking something that looked suspiciously foot-like from the pile Millie was working on, with a delicate touch that belied his bulky exterior.

"But we can try." Bon-Bon added. "Now, how about you dry those tears and we work together now?"

"Not like there's anything better to do." Funtime Freddy mumbled.

Millie blew her nose on the little pack of tissues she had been keeping handy in her hoodie pocket and rolled up her sleeves. "I've gotten nowhere, so I guess we can try that." She said. "Now is it just me, or does that kinda look like a foot?"

XXX

After sorting through the many, many pieces of Sarah, Millie had nearly leapt for joy when Bon-Bon identified something as a very amateur power source, one that seemed to need charging, which they did as they worked. After that, they began connecting a few pieces and wires to it, Millie clearing away rust, debris and grease and soldering new circuit connections along the way. They even found a few pieces that could be parts of a face or a spine, or other odd structures that Eleanor had made to replace Sarah's humanity.

At the end of it, they had something that vaguely resembled an arm, albeit more like the arm of an endoskeleton. Still, it was something. A start.

"See, Silly Millie? If you stop huffing and puffing and brooding so much, and ask for a bit of help, you can get some work done!" Funtime Freddy asserted.

"Easy peasy!" Bon-Bon chimed. "Why don't we rest for the night though? Aren't you supposed to be going out tomorrow?"

"Yeah…" Millie sighed. "Grandpa thinks I've been phasing back into some of my old tendencies-"

"Which you have." Funtime Freddy declared.

She shot him a glare. "...And so my psychiatrist thinks I need to be doing a little more. He invited Dylan, Brooke and I out to a play at the local theatre after therapy tomorrow. Brooke couldn't make it because of her cousin's party, but Dylan is bonkers over theatre." She shrugged. "I prefer books, but… I probably do need to get out of the house."

Bon-Bon clapped his little paws together happily. "How wonderful, Millie! I think it'll be a lot of fun. And don't worry, we'll keep watch over Sarah!"

"And the brat in the jar." Funtime Freddy grumbled. "Still silly that you didn't let me handle her. But I guess that is in your name!"

Millie chuckled, closer to an exhale rather than a laugh. "Whatever, you two. I'll do my best to enjoy it." She turned to face the work they had accomplished over the past few hours. It was so little, such a tiny part of what would even resemble a human being. It hurt to think that Sarah would never be human again.

She looked to her two robotic friends, now bantering and playfully joking.

But she could be alive.

"I promise it's going to be okay, Sarah." Millie whispered. "I didn't know you… But Eleanor was so wrong about everything. I bet you were beautiful. Because you're you." Millie realized she felt the same way about herself and felt a lump form in her throat. "She's the monster that took advantage of that. But I hope you get the chance to see how beautiful you are, and how beautiful life is, one day. I really hope so."

One finger on the endoskeletal hand twitched. Barely more than a centimeter.

The whole world stopped for a moment. Millie's head spun, and her jaw dropped. She turned to look at her friends, and saw them frozen too.

Unbidden, a laugh burst forth from her and she took the hand in her own. Sarah's hand. "I love you, Sarah! I believe in you." She looked back to her friends, tears dripping down her cheeks. "And I believe in us too. I promise we're going to help you."

The fingers twitched, ever so slightly, and Millie curled her fingers around them. There was work to be done, but right now, this moment… It was proof it could be done. And even if it took the rest of Millie's life, it would be done.

Tomorrow was another day.

A/N: This was a hard chapter to write and characterize for me, but it was a very fun challenge. Getting into the meat of Freddy and the crew's trauma and digging deeper into Millie's sure was something else. I hope you guys enjoy, and are liking the fierce hope that lines the end of this chapter and leads to the next. :) Thanks for the love and support!