Greeting: Where were we again? Rachel got through the checkpoint. It was quite a shock but everyone's gonna be fine. Let's move on. What now?

( Inside Rachel's head)

The pink rabbit was floating in a purple space. It was very bright, which was blinding her eyes.
That place was foreign and extremely unwelcoming. She was in space. Or maybe not!
The horizon was changing colors and weird beams of light were shooting past Rachel. She was not scared, it was peaceful in there.
She had lost her bearings but that was okay. She didn't even want to get her bearings back. The world, around her, shone like a thousand stars.
She was certain that she was being watched despite her seeing no one around. Her eyes were incapable of understanding the world so she ignored it.
Like a flea seeing a dog or a fly seeing a plane. She understood only parts of it but that was all fine.
No questions popped into her head, no wonder was in her gaze.
The voice started to talk.
" It's been so long, dear", was its first sentence.
Rachel understood it perfectly and heard it around her.
" For too long, I'd say. Being away is hard, becoming greater is hard. The world is a wonderful place but becoming something less is a blessing.
You may not see everything but that is the beauty of it", said the voice.
Rachel guessed that it had gone away by becoming something greater. It made no sense but she reacted to it this time.
" Ignorance is beautiful?", she asked.
The voice chuckled kindly.
" Knowledge is power but it also causes pain, great amounts of it. When a cell is ignorant of it being just a part, it is at peace.
If it one day realizes what it is, what happens then?", the voice told her.
" What happens?", asked Rachel.
The voice was silent.
" It is best to be left unanswered. My queen went through that type of self-realization in her new form. I could feel her like I felt you.
She was far away from us. That mustn't happen ever again. I must reach her", said the voice.
" I will do that. Just who is your queen? I can't give you to her unless I know who it is", Rachel told the voice, presumably the sword.
" You will. Just keep me with you. I wish I could tell you what you are a part of but that would cause pain. In this timeline, there is enough pain.
Just realize how important I am. You have to", the voice sounded desperate.
" I will", Rachel told it and fell asleep.

The world twisted into a sigh to behold. Rachel saw planets within universes and something looming above it all.
It was just something she accidentally saw when she was ripped away from that place. Rachel travelled faster than light through dimensions.
It was over in a second.

" Ouch", she moaned as she opened her eyes. She had a headache and probably twenty blades stuck to her.
She wondered if her trip to the great beyond had been worth it. As far as she knew, the sword had wanted to make sure she knew the severity of the situation.
It could have just told her instead of taking her beyond the concept of existence.
" Why does this keep happening to me?", she sighed in frustration.
Rachel's vision became clear and she saw something in front of her. It was six barrels of pure chaos.
The minigun was aiming at her and she was going to die.
Rachel yelped and crawled backwards. She got scared to death.
As she heard no noise of bullets, she looked around her more. The minigun wasn't even on.
She was in a car, presumably Milla and Fritz's one.
She was at the back with tons of guns and whatever the rest was. The guns were shiny, which reminded her of the sword.
Rachel looked around her quickly but didn't see it.
" Where is it? They didn't take it, no, they couldn't have", she got scared.
" Nick took it", a voice told her from the front.

Rachel had her back against the right wall. She looked at her right and saw Milla, sitting there with her bow on her back.
There was a low wall between the front and the back, Milla was sitting on it, facing Rachel.
" Why?", Rachel asked her.
Milla looked up.
" I don't know. Maybe since you obliterated the monsters with it. Nick thought it was the best to separate you two.
Plus, the kids were circling you like a swarm of bees. You needed some personal space so we took you in", Milla explained to the confused rabbit.
Rachel was already dizzy after the trip but shock had made it worse. Milla let Rachel gather her bearings a bit and check if she was alright.
" You really scared us with that trick. Those monsters fled as your friends were terrified", Milla looked into Rachel's eyes.
Her normal, joking gaze was gone.
" Are they fine?", Rachel asked about her friends.
" Doug wasted so many tears, worrying about you. That was hours ago", Milla said briefly.
Rachel was quite astonished, she had been out for hours.
" Good thing is they trust you now. Ray surprisingly didn't want to throw that sword away after all", Milla told her.
Rachel was relieved.
" Good. We need that sword. I don't know who that queen is but it needs to be returned to her", Rachel wiped her forehead.
" It still seems weird. That was centuries ago. Their queen can't be immortal", Milla didn't agree.
" The shadows said that she has another form now. I believe them", Rachel was determined.
Milla thought about it.
" Dad is certain of one thing. This has something to do with witches. You can think whatever you want but they are real.
This Apocalypse is their doing. The Fazbears can tell you guys everything when we get there", Milla told Rachel.

The rabbit was happy to know that the Fazbear could give them answers.
" Can that blade stop all this?", Rachel happened to think about it.
" I guess it is connected to all this. Now days, everything is. If we take that to the Fazbears, answers will be coming out of their faces.
Like snot out of noses", Milla nodded to her.
Rachel hoped the sword would help. She chose not to say anything about her dream or whatever it was.
She didn't want to worry the others more than they already were. If the best happened, she would never have to.
" Well, let's find out what this is about. Is the pizzeria far away?", Rachel asked Milla.
The answer was unfortunate but expected.
" It is. We are still far away even though we have been picking up speed since we got through", said Milla.

Rachel nodded calmly and fell silent. Milla and Rachel were sitting there for minutes.
Milla checked Rachel out and Rachel assured her that she was alright. She was completely fine.
Rachel went as far as to claim she hadn't felt so good since the Beginning. Her body was flawless, no wounds were left.
Rachel told Milla how she had felt with the sword in her hand. That had been so much electricity but it had left no marks on Rachel.
The sword was made of magic if it hadn't been clear enough earlier. There was no other explanation for what had happened.
Rachel and Milla started talking about the shadow animatronics.

Rachel asked Milla if they were being followed by the animatronics.
" No one is after us. I don't think they would be able to even if they tried. They were made out of stone and wood for heaven's sake", Milla shook her head.
Rachel agreed now that it had come into her mind.
" They said that they were working on magic. What do you think about them, Milla?", Rachel asked her.
" They work on magic, it makes sense. I think they must be what animatronics looked like back then", Milla answered.
" Like cave people. We are humans and they are apes. Is that what you mean?", Rachel raised her eyebrows.
Milla thought for a second.
" I guess that's one way of putting it", she smiled at Rachel.

They continued talking and none of it was important. They had nothing else to do so they small-talked.
Fritz made them coffee and Rachel was astonished by that.
" I love coffee", Milla took a sip from her cup.
" That is cool. You make us look like a bunch of losers", Rachel told Milla.
" Isn't that what you are?", Milla replied to her.
She winked and smiled to let Rachel know that it was a joke. Rachel chuckled and looked around.
" What else have got hidden in here? Besides guns and a coffee maker of course", she was curious.
Milla took a look around, not knowing what to answer.
They had so much stuff.
Delilah hadn't been holding back on the equipment. They had everything they could have hoped for.
There were clothes and guns and more guns. Milla had settled with the coffee.
" I don't actually know. The coffee is everything I'm interested in", Milla shrugged after a while.
" You like it a lot, don't you?", Rachel giggled.
" I guess. It helps me calm down and keep my cool. Without coffee, I feel cold and desolate. It's like the closet all over", Milla shivered at the thought.
" What closet?", Rachel asked Milla confusedly.
Milla explained her life and even some bits of Fritz's life. Milla grinned as Rachel heard about Fritz's murders.
She told Rachel much about the Legends and her father's desire to have a child. Fritz was listening to it too, at the front.
Rachel didn't interrupt much, she felt sad.
" No wonder Lena slapped him. She knew all that, didn't she?", Rachel looked down.
" Most of it. Your cousin leaves and suddenly you realize that he murdered kids.
Your true family leaves and you are stuck with abusive parents", Milla closed her eyes.
" Enough, Milla! She got the point", Fritz shouted from the front.
" Sorry, father", Milla apologized to him.

She got closer to Rachel and started whispering so Fritz wouldn't hear her. Milla was creepy when she whispered, her voice was grim.
Finally, Milla got to the point when she explained Rachel what had happened to her that day.
She told the bunny about Scarlett, Luna and Nadia. Rachel's eyes widened.
" Scarlett and Nadia and Luna. Aren't they animatronics at Freddy Fazbear's? I recall there being two wolf sisters and someone called Luna", Rachel asked her.
" You know them, huh? They are the same animatronics. I hated them for so long.
Later, at Freddy's, I found out that they had felt bad for their actions. We are enemies no longer", Milla assured Rachel.
" I just thought you might have been happy about Luna's death. She is gone according to one child.
He heard it from his second cousins", Rachel quieted down.
Milla remembered the horrors of the Grayson hill.
" The battle was horrible. Only those, who were there, know the truth. Luna died, saving her only son. I presume you are familiar with Eclipse.
The Legends tried to cause all this, the Apocalypse, as far as I know. Why it is here, is something I don't know.
Hopefully, Freddy knows the answer", Milla scratched her back nervously.
Rachel thought about all of it. There were pieces missing but she knew they would lead to more questions.
Milla had given her a basic rundown of what was going on.
" So witches came, made animatronics. These Legends are behind all this. You grew up without a father; you thought he was dead.
The Legends caused it and you fought with the Fazbears to get your revenge", Rachel went through it.
Milla nodded to her, that was pretty much all of it. Rachel was happy to get some light on things.

" So. How did it feel to meet a relative for the first time?", Rachel inquired.
Milla thought about Lena.
" She is alright. She does have something wrong with her but who am I to judge", Milla looked up, thinking.
" She had a pizzeria. Her three best friends were crucified like Jesus and the two robbers", Rachel said quickly.
" Oh", Milla grinned at the thought.
She hadn't known that. Fritz, at the front, thought that he would have to give Lena his condolences.
The jeep drove over a bump and everyone, inside, had to hold onto something.
Rachel thought about the ground they were driving on. The bus was probably either next to them and behind them.
Then it hit Rachel like a meteorite.
" Shouldn't we be telling Nick that I'm awake? I don't want to keep Doug waiting. He must be worried sick", Rachel suggested.
Milla thought about it at the exact same time.
" Why not? They should know since you are their animatronic", Milla told her.
They had been chattering for long and Rachel had almost forgotten about her friends. Milla climbed to the front and beckoned Rachel to stay still.
" I'll take care of this", she told Rachel who nodded.
Rachel knew what she was doing but it still surprised her. Milla opened the window and jumped out.
That young woman didn't lack courage, she was a daredevil, one of the worst too.
It was no wonder but it amazed Rachel. The Smiths were extraordinary, for a clear reason now that Rachel knew the story.
They were the last survivors for that reason. Rachel's crew had survived due to their love for the kids.
They could hardly be counted among the survivors. The sword had protected them.
The Smiths had lived due to their skills. Rachel envied them a bit. She wished she could have been that brave too.

Milla returned to her previous place shortly and smiled at Rachel.
" That was fun. Nick wishes to know whether you want to go back. Be warned though, he seemed to have an ulterior motive", Milla told her.
Rachel nodded to her, she knew what that ulterior motive was. Nick tried to see if Rachel would come for the sword immediately.
If she stayed with Milla, Nick would start trusting her again. Rachel decided to stay so Nick would see that she wasn't possessive over the sword.
" I'll stay here. I can go to my friends later. For now, I'll let them calm down", Rachel told Milla.
" Ray really needs to let out some steam", she added.

Both giggled at that.
Milla leaned over to the front and looked to her right. She shook her head exaggeratingly, it was meant for Nick.
Then Milla looked back at Rachel.
" Nick nodded to me through the window. He seemed happy about your decision", she told Rachel.
" He trusts me now. Good", thought Rachel.
" I am okay with remaining here as long as the kids are fine in there", Rachel said.
" They are. Doug was really happy to hear that you were awake and fine. I think he hugged himself", Milla responded.
Rachel's smile was huge. Doug hugged himself only in extreme happiness. Doug wasn't angry with her one bit.
Knowing Ray, he wasn't either. Like Rachel had said, Ray needed some time to let out steam.
" So! What will we do for the rest of the time? There isn't much to do", Milla asked suddenly.
Rachel was surprisingly glad about it. She hadn't had much free time since they had left their own pizzeria. The kids were hard to satisfy.
There was always something they wanted.
If it wasn't hugs, it was food. If it wasn't food, it was a toilet. If it wasn't any of those, it was a warm lap.

That reminded Rachel of her first day in the pizzeria.
" How about I tell you my story? I know much about you now but you don't know about me", Rachel suggested.
Milla agreed with her that it would be nice. Rachel's story wasn't as sad as Milla's.
Rachel told her about her first day as an animatronic. It had been a wondrous day and there had been much to see.
Rachel had first wondered if she ended up liking children.
" I'd imagine it was a pointless worry", Milla chuckled.
Then Rachel described her first interaction with children, it was so adorable.
" I held her on my lap and warmed her up. I promised myself that I would never allow anyone to hurt them.
She, on my lap, was so small and innocent", Rachel told Milla about the first girl.
Rachel could have talked about it for hours. Sadly, her story was not meant to last.
They had been tempting fate with all their talk about having tons of free time. When their journey got too quiet, fate threw something at them.
A pizzeria, a checkpoint.
What could come in their way anymore?
Rachel presumed it was something horrible and she was right.
She had told Milla about meeting Doug and how he had blushed when Rachel had kissed him.

Suddenly, Fritz slowed down. Milla felt it.
" Wait a second. Dad! Why are we slowing down?",
she turned around. Fritz looked worried.
" Nothing. There's lights ahead. We have to take no chances", he told her.
" Nothing, you say? I'd call that at least something", Rachel told Fritz.
" Can we go around it?", Milla asked her father.
" We'll see", Fritz didn't really answer that.
He knew that Nick would follow him. He chose not to go very far away from the lights. It was pointless to keep distance.
The window was slightly open and he could hear noises. Rachel and Milla stayed quiet as the tension grew.
Doug, Ray, Lena and the kids did the same in the bus. The lights weren't far away.

There was a hill which the vehicles had to get over. The lights seemed to be in some sort of pit, beside it.
Fritz was certain that no one would see them, something in the noises gave it away. He gestured Nick to go slowly up the hill.
The vehicles made noise as well but the other ones were too loud. Those noises would drown the noises, made by the vehicles.
Easily!
The drivers were tense and kept eye contact with one another. They could almost read each other's minds.
Fritz was careful not to make any excessive noise, their jeep was loud most of the time. Rachel didn't like it.
Milla's muscles got tense and she had her hand ready. Surely, Fritz could have gone the long way around but he was a Smith. He was a daredevil.
In the bus, Lena was secretly excited.
Doug asked her whether she was fine and she smiled at him.
" This is like when me and Fritz snuck into our neighbour's house", she answered him.

Nick was grateful once they were about to reach the peak. That was the scary part.
The noises got louder as they climbed higher. Rachel could almost recognize individual voices.
There were a lot of people in the pit. Doug and Ray went for the windows to see into the pit.
Rachel got to the front of the jeep to do the same.

The animatronics jumped in shock. They had an instinct to know if some noise was made by a child. There were two types of noises.
Children and cheering monsters. There was death in that pit. The scent of corpses was unimaginable.
They got on top of the hill and both vehicles stopped. Nick and Fritz were shocked.
The animatronics covered their faces for a second.
" What's going on?", one boy asked Ray.
" Nothing. Don't look down there", the raccoon bent down to his level.
Ray hugged the boy instantly to stop him from looking outside.
" Oh god", he weeped.
" Please help them", Doug covered his mouth.
Rachel saw them too.
" No. Please don't let this be true", she cried and Milla patted her on the back.
It was just like one of her nightmares. Rachel was weeping.
The children were in pain. Not the ones inside the bus but the ones in the pit.

Rachel had never seen anything like it.

Farewell: This chapter was a calm one. The next one will have something better in it. That will have to wait though.
That is the next chapter. For this one, I'll say thank you for reading it. THE ONLY WAY TO LIVE IS TO WRITE.