A/N: Finally done with my Korea vacation! Definitely had a lot of fun, though it was also filled with hot, humid, and mosquitoes. That combination does NOT go well together :P

So I wrote a 12-page Reddit post on my issues with PurgaMike/MikeHell, my counterarguments to common PurgaMike arguments, and who I think the One You Should Not Have Killed is under the William Afton in Hell theory. Please check it out, and I hope I can convince you if you are a current PurgaMike supporter.

r/fivenightsatfreddys/comments/926wa3/my_issues_with_the_mike_in_hellpurgatory_theory/

Anyways, it's time for the sibling bonding chapter you've all been waiting for! This is a pivotal moment in Liz's character development, and she'll finally be able to, if not cast aside, at least rise above her angst and guilt for what she did as Baby.

I will also be updating previous chapters so that the MCI happened in 1982 instead of 1987, since I am dead certain that there was a Freddy's pizzeria between Fredbear's Family Diner and the 1987 pizzeria that failed because of the MCI.

Dark: Molten Freddy's dead, he died in the FFPS fire just like everyone else.

Disclaimer: Christian themes, yadda yadda yadda, you get it.

Chapter 44 – Love and Enlightenment

"And with that, my lifelong quest to make things right with Evan and stop father's evil finally ended," Michael concluded with a sigh as he shifted himself to a more comfortable position on Liz's bed. "Unlike Evan, I didn't really have any interest in going back to the mortal world. I just wanted to finally rest and enjoy the peace that Heaven gave me."

"I wish I could have joined you two," Liz murmured as she looked down on her bed.

Her brother saw the conflict in her immediately. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

"I…I know it's my fault, and I shouldn't really complain about anything, but…"

"Go on, Lizzie," he lightly prompted her. "What do you want to say?"

Liz took a deep breath, and then… "It's not fair!" she blurted out, and she couldn't hold back her tears. "We were all there! Evan, Michael, me…we could have all been together. We could have reunited one last time as a family before the pizzeria burned down."

Michael raised an eyebrow. "You're not including Father in that list?"

"I don't care about William Afton!" Liz snarled, her eyes flashing green with hatred and disgust at the murderer she had once embraced as father. "He can rot in the darkest pit of Hell with Nightmare tearing his soul to pieces for all I care!" Her fury faded, and her voice quivered. "But you two…you two always cared about me. If I had a choice, I would've died with the two of you right next to me, holding me close. And you were so close! Just a few rooms away…"

Michael began rubbing his sister's back comfortingly. "Would you really want our first reunion to be in a place of destruction and flame, still caught up in the shadows of a years-old nightmare?" he asked gently. "Wouldn't it be better for all of us to finally reunite in a home like Mike's or an eternal paradise? Maybe it is for the best that you haven't found both Evan and me at the same time…we can save that precious moment for a time when all our troubles are finally behind us."

"May…maybe…" his sister admitted reluctantly. She wiped her eyes and tilted her head to look up at her brother. "Evan couldn't come with you?"

Michael shook his head. "God made it very clear that only a select few of us would be permitted to come here. And Evan believed I could help you now more than he could." He chuckled lightly, though his expression quickly turned melancholy and he sighed. "He really was the wisest one in our entire family. All of us, none more so than me, were just to blind to see it."

Liz nodded but didn't say a word, sensing that her brother was about to say more. "You know…up until the very moment where I stood before Heaven's Gates, and they opened to let me in, I didn't know where I would end up when the smoke cleared and the fires burned everything to ash," Michael confessed. "I didn't know if everything I did throughout the past four decades would be enough to earn redemption for shoving Evan's head in Fredbear's jaws, or if I was going to spend eternity right next to father, the two of us screaming forever under Nightmare's roaring laughter. And as insane as it might sound, Lizzie, I would have accepted either fate. Evan had forgiven me, and had done so for a long time. That knowledge alone would comfort my soul if damnation was my fate."

"But you don't deserve that!" Liz cried out as she grabbed hold of his arm, unable to accept that her brother even considered the possibility of deserving damnation. "Even if you did something terrible back in the past, you changed! You tried to be better! You spent your entire life trying to be better! You don't deserve…you don't deserve to…to…"

Michael's lips stretched into a knowing smile. "It's funny you say that, Lizzie," he commented as he looked down into Lizzie's eyes, and the girl could see a light in them that hadn't been there before, "because couldn't that exact same description also apply to you, right here and now?" he questioned.

Liz's mouth opened, but no words came out. Michael chuckled again and began ruffling his sister's hair. "I found my redemption for a terrible crime that was born from my own darkness, Lizzie," he continued. "It was a path that was long and exhausting and demanded a steep cost that many wouldn't be willing to pay, but I managed it against all odds. And if I can find redemption for sins that were entirely my fault, then I don't think you'll have a difficult time finding it for sins that were never truly yours to begin with."

A flicker of hope appeared in Liz's eyes, though they were still filled with doubt and uncertainty. "I'm not like the others," she recalled out loud to her brother. "I wasn't taken up to Heaven and told by God to find redemption with Mike. I just…woke up and felt something guide me here."

Michael nodded. "I've noticed that as well. It's a double-edged sword, sis, what you described. One the one hand, it's a vindication. The other kids, they were brought here as an act of mercy absolutely, but it was just as much an act of judgment. God held them accountable for the innocent night guards they killed and brought them to Mike, so they could find a way to redeem themselves. But He never called you up with them because He knew that your evil intentions as Scrap Baby were because of outside corruption, and that you still had noble reasons back when you were just Circus Baby." He grinned at her. "Isn't it an encouraging thought? God Himself doesn't hold your actions against you."

A small smile appeared on Liz's face. "Yeah…" she agreed, beginning to feel the weight of her sins slowly lifting from her spirit. Then, the smile shrank. "That doesn't make me feel better as much as I feel like it should, though," she admitted.

Michael sighed. "Yeah, and that's the other part of the double-edged sword I was talking about earlier. Your other family members do have to atone with their new life here, but they have their goal clearly set out for them by God and, in a way, it makes things much simpler for them. But since God didn't do that for you, being at peace with yourself is a lot more complicated since you're the one who has to find redemption for yourself." He thought back to the times he had spent with Evan. "Getting other people to forgive you isn't too hard, as long as you're genuine in your apology and your wrongs aren't too serious. Getting God to forgive you is even easier. But forgiving yourself…"

"Forgiving yourself is the hard part…" Liz finished for him as she leaned into her brother's chest.

Michael nodded. "And the only person who can do that is you. The people who love you and care about you can help you, but you're the one who has to make that call in the end."

Liz closed her eyes and thought about her brother's words. How close was she to forgiving herself? Even though a part of her felt that she deserved her anguish and despair, and she doubted that part would ever truly leave her, she didn't want to feel like this. She didn't want her own past to get in the way of the present and the future she now had with a family that fully welcomed her despite everything she had done.

As if he could hear her thoughts, Mike smiled and stroked her hair. "Some would say that you don't need to seek redemption all, Lizzie. But if you do, I don't think you'll have a very hard time finding it. My path took decades, and I only had Evan's occasional visit and a Bible to keep me company." At Liz's questioning look, he sighed. "Evan couldn't really interact with me all that much outside of those times I described. And when I was alone, sometimes the only thing that kept me from giving up was the idea that I could be forgiven at all," he quickly explained, before he smiled at her. "But you? Not only do you have far less to be guilty of, but you have an entire family, a much stronger support system than I ever did. Whatever you feel you need to do to make things right, I'm sure you won't have to put nearly as much time and effort into it as I did."

"I guess all I can do is look for those opportunities," Liz murmured, "and just enjoy what life gives me in the meantime."

Michael grinned. "That's the spirit, Lizzie. No pun intended."

His sister let out a laugh at that, and Michael could already see her spirits becoming brighter and brighter with every moment that passed. Then, a new thought suddenly occurred to Liz, and she sobered up instantly. Michael noticed the change in her personality instantly and immediately went on alert.

"Mikey…" she began after several moments of hesitation. "There's…there's something I need to tell you. Something that you don't know about."

Michael gave her a worried look. "Did you commit some evil act that I don't know about?" he asked.

Liz shook her head. "No, but…I…I think it's best if I just show it to you." She gave her brother a pleading look. "Please don't think badly of me once you've seen it."

Michael hugged her to him. "I promise, nothing you show me can change how I feel about you," he swore.

Liz sighed and nodded as she got off her brother's lap and moved into a more open space. "Okay, then…here…here goes." She closed her eyes, and her form flickered and shifted. In a second, Liz Schmidt was gone, and Scrap Baby stood in her place. Scrap Baby opened up her robotic eyes and looked gloomily down at the animatronic body that had defined her last moments before her full death.

Michael's eyes widened in shock. "So it's true…" he breathed. "The rumors…what they told me in Heaven was true…"

Liz blinked back tears. "I'm sorry…" she lamented. "I'm sorry this brings back painful memories, Mikey. Scrap Baby…this monster…it'll always be a part of who I am. And I just couldn't feel right about myself hiding this from you."

She hesitatingly looked up at Michael's eyes, expecting to see some form of disgust, horror, or pain. But to her surprise, her brother was grinning.

"That's not what I meant, Lizzie," he explained, and her confusion only deepened at his seemingly out-of-place enthusiasm. "I couldn't believe it when they first told me, but now I know it's true! You actually managed to land a hit on NIGHTMARE!"

Liz gave her brother a puzzled look. "I just wanted to keep daddy safe from him. Is that…something special?"

Michael ruffled her wiry hair proudly, seemingly ignoring Scrap Baby's form entirely. "You fought back against him when I never could, and what you did that night matters a lot more than you think. There are demons who have prepared for years to fight demon lords like Nightmare only to get slaughtered in seconds, and you made a being like him bleed."

Liz rubbed her claw uncomfortably. "I mean, I only managed that because he had his attention on dad and I could surprise him," she admitted. "It's not like I tried to fight him fairly or anything."

Her brother shook his head. "The point is, Lizzie…you're capable of accomplishing a lot more than you think you are, if you really set your mind to it," he explained. "Your ability to turn into Scrap Baby and what you can do because of that only make your potential even greater. You still have this transformation for a reason, sis. Don't let it go to waste!"

Michael looked at his sister, only to find that she still seemed conflicted and mentally torn. "You're still afraid, aren't you?" he questioned. "Afraid of Scrap Baby, afraid of what she represents." When Liz wordlessly nodded in confirmation, Michael sighed. "I had a feeling that was it."

"I don't get it, Mikey," Liz confessed. "Dad…he brought me along to the old pizzerias as Scrap Baby to help me find the bodies of my new family, and it HAS helped me feel better, but still…"

"I think I know what the problem is, Lizzie…" Michael quietly declared. When Liz looked up at him for clarification, he continued. "Your new dad, Mike, he tried to help you get over your bad feelings about Scrap Baby. He had the right idea, and he got you off an excellent start, but he never really had the complete picture for how to help you, and I think he knew he was missing something too. The two of you gave Scrap Baby new purpose, but you never gave her a new identity, sis."

Liz tilted her head in puzzlement. "A new…identity?" she repeated.

Her brother stared straight into her eyes. "Let me ask you a question, Lizzie," he said, the levity in his voice now gone. "When was the last time you looked at Scrap Baby and saw anything other than a monster? When was the last time you looked at yourself in that form and saw someone besides the murderer that Father tried to make you become?"

Liz's mouth fell open, utterly stunned by her brother's question. "I…I…" Had there ever been a time when she HADN'T hated Scrap Baby and what she represented. She couldn't think of a single time…and she had a feeling that was because there had never been one to begin with.

"If you want to fully get over your guilt, your self-hatred, all those things that are keeping you from enjoying your new life, you have to change your fundamental perception of Scrap Baby into something else," Michael offered his advice with a knowing smile on his lips. "Change her into someone that YOU want her to be, someone that you're comfortable with becoming when you need to." He shook his head and sighed. "Just like finding redemption for yourself, though, that's something that only you can do. I can tell you that I love you and forgive you a thousand times, I can give you all the advice in the world, but you're the only one who can decide who Scrap Baby is from this point forward."

Liz sat back down on her bed, her thoughts racing over her brother's words. Was it really that simple? Could that be the key to finally putting her dark past behind her once and for all? "What do you think I should have her be, Mikey?" she asked. Despite what he had just said about her being the one who had to decide, she still wanted Michael's opinion on how she should transform Scrap Baby's identity.

Michael shook her head. "I could tell you my thoughts, Liz, but I honestly think that it would be for the best if you figured that out on your own. That way, you can truly say that you're the one who made the final call, and you won't have any doubts that your new purpose is just what your brother wants and that you're still a monster deep down." He suddenly smiled. "But I can tell you one thing that hasn't changed."

"What is that, Mikey?" Liz asked. She was rewarded with Michael getting up from the bed. Before she could do anything, he wrapped his arms around her in the same brotherly hug that he had given her when she was still alive.

"I know the one thing that you need to hear from me more than anything else, Lizzie, even if you don't know it yourself." Michael told her gently as he tightened his embrace. "I forgive you. I still love you. Elizabeth Afton, Liz Schmidt, Lizzie, Circus Baby, Scrap Baby, who cares what you call yourself or what you look like at any given moment? There is one thing that hasn't changed, and never will change. You are, and always will be, my baby sister."

All the emotions that Liz had been keeping within her finally burst out of her. She fell to her knees as tears started pouring out of her eyes, utterly overwhelmed by Michael's declaration of love. Her brother had given her the forgiveness that she had so desperately needed ever since Nightmare had revealed that horrible truth to her all those months ago. The one thing she had hoped for above all else had become reality, and her greatest fear had been reduced to nothing more than an empty lie. Liz could do nothing but weep in disbelieving shock and joy as she buried her head in her brother's chest and fully returned the hug he had given her, taking care not to accidentally harm him with robotic arm or claw. Michael waited patiently and silently for her to finish expressing her gratitude and happiness. He had been impatient with one sibling before, and it had led to nightmarish catastrophe. He would never allow himself to make that same mistake with another.

And as he held his sister's animatronic form tightly to his body, Michael could have sworn that, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the faintest form of a dark purple bear with glowing white eyes and teeth, nodding with approval and pride. But when he blinked his eyes to focus on the figure, it was nowhere to be seen, leaving only him and his sister in the room together.

After what felt like a seeming eternity, Liz finally started wiping away the tears from her eyes, shifting back to her human form as she did so. "You're…you're the best family ever, Mikey…" she managed to say as she gave him a weak, tearful smile. "No matter how much I love my new brothers and sisters, or even dad for that matter, you'll always be my favorite."

Michael smiled sadly and shook his head. "That's an honor I don't think I'll ever fully deserve, but I'm happy you think that about me." His face suddenly brightened as he sat back down on the bed, beckoning for Liz to join him. "So Lizzie, I think we've talked enough about the past. I want to know more about what your life is like now. How have you been doing with your new friends and family? Anything particularly amazing or funny happen?"

A grin began to form on Liz's lips: a bright, jubilant expression that Michael couldn't remember the last time he'd seen. "You have no idea, Mikey," she began. "Sit tight, cause I've got so many stories to tell you…"

/

Henry slowly approached the outside of Liz's room, wondering what he would find when he peeked inside. The poor girl had been utterly devastated the last time he'd seen her, and he had understood immediately that only one person who could save her from herself.

As he got closer to the door, he began to hear laughter and animated conversation from within the room. "A promising start," he thought, but there was only one way to be sure. He put his head to the door and focused his energy on opening the door just the tiniest inch. Exactly as he had hoped, he could see Liz talking animatedly about one of the many shenanigans that her funniest brother Fritz got caught in, causing Michael to laugh uncontrollably. Henry's smile widened as he saw that all was truly well, and he slowly backed away, leaving the two siblings to their own devices. He floated back down the stairs to the living room, where the other ghosts were waiting.

"Is Liz all right?" Fritz asked immediately once Henry had returned to the couch he had been sitting in earlier. He and the others had been impatiently and anxiously waiting ever since Liz had fled to her room, and it had taken both several minutes of persuasion from Henry and a flat-out ORDER from Mike, who almost never demanded anything of them, to ultimately convince them to stay put.

Henry smiled. "She is fine. Michael has handled things even better than I expected. You don't have to worry about her anymore."

Everyone breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Oh, thank God…" Gabe muttered. Their first Christmas would have been tainted forever if one of them had been grieving while the others were happy.

"Will they be coming down soon?" Charlie asked.

Henry shook his head. "Who can say, baby girl? This is the first time that brother and sister have been truly reunited as they were meant to be, and they may not find another opportunity like this for as long as another year. Let them have this time to themselves."

"Okay…" Cassidy reluctantly agreed. She looked towards the basement door. "Come to think of it, we haven't seen Dad ever since he opened the door for Liz's brother. I wonder what he's doing down there?"

"Only one way for us to find out," Jeremy said as he got up. The ghosts all followed him down to the basement. The former Bonnie inhabitant was about to call out a greeting to Oskar, when they suddenly realized that the war veteran had a finger placed to his lips.

"Shhhhh…" he whispered. "Do not make a sound."

"What?" Cassidy mouthed. "Why?"

In response, Oskar silently pointed towards one of the sofas in the basement. Mike and Melody were sitting on the piece of furniture, both sleeping soundly with a warm blanket wrapped over them. The kids all tried to suppress giggles at the sight, with varying degrees of success. Even the straight-laced war veteran himself couldn't resist giving off a faint chuckle. "I was never one for romance," Oskar chuckled. "Mike is the only living legacy that I have left on this Earth. But I can't help but wonder…I wonder if he can succeed where I have failed?"

The children's giggling started to grow louder as Henry chuckled at the sight. "There is an opportunity to be had here, that much is for certain," he agreed as he pat Charlie on the shoulders. "Don't let this go to waste, Charlie."

"Oh, don't worry, Mr. Emily," Fritz snickered mischievously. "We definitely won't."

All of them felt two new presences enter the basement, and they didn't even need to look to know that Michael and Liz had joined them. "Mikey wants to meet all of you!" Liz declared as the older man waved lazily at them. "Now that we don't have to worry about all stuff that happened in the past."

A faint look of guilt entered each of the kid's faces as they realized that Michael had been one of their many victims, but Michael waved it off. "Don't worry about it," he told them. "Being chased by a couple of animatronics was the least of my problems."

"You kinda remind me of dad," Susie commented. "He didn't care about that any more than you do." Her smile widened. "That's one of the reasons why we love him so much."

Michael returned the smile. "Any positive comparison you make between me and him is one that I consider an honor." He and the children began talking animatedly with each other, and as they did so Fritz and Charlie quickly spared a glance on Liz. That fleeting second was all it took for them to see the vibrant, joyful expression on her face and recognize that, for all the time they had known her ever since they had all come together in the summer, this was the happiest that they had ever seen her.

This first Christmas would always be remembered by each and every ghost child as the greatest and most important of them all. For it was the first holiday in living memory that they had spent together in peace and happiness, basking in the warmth of a new father's love. But as much as they would remember this day fondly, none of them would ever cherish it so much as Liz. For she had been given the greatest gift of all, one that she had needed above all else and one that only her brother could ever have given her.

Absolution.

/

A/N: And here we finally have it. The bonding and reconnecting between Liz and Michael that you've all been waiting for. For all his love and compassion, for all his intelligence and wisdom, Mike cannot solve EVERY problem the ghost kids have. There was only ever going to be one person who could lift Liz out of her despair and guilt, and I think we all knew from the very beginning that there was no other way.

This marks a turning point for Liz's character, that's for sure. Michael has opened her eyes to the way forward, and now it's up to Liz to fully make her way back into the light. Just HOW she will accomplish this…well, that's what future chapters are for.

This was by far one of the biggest and most important story arcs in this entire fic, and one that took me the most effort by far to write out. I hope you guys enjoyed all the lore exploration that I finally delivered on, as well as the rebuilding of the relationship between Michael and Liz. Hopefully I hit some of you in the feels somewhere 😊

Anyway, I need a huge break from serious story stuff, so the next few chapters will go back to being lighter in nature. I hope you guys enjoyed! :D