Greetings everybody.

I've been debating on whether or not to do this for some time, but given the feedback and suggestions that I've received through this story as well as some new revelations to official FNAF lore from Scott, I figured it might not hurt to clarify a few things about this story, since there are very likely some of you who have questions about some of my interpretations. After all, I'm not Scott Cawthon. Although I certainly wanted to challenge myself as a writer with this story, my end goal was just a better sense of closure to the series, not to make things even more confusing by getting mixed up in all of the confusing aspects of the lore. Hopefully, I succeeded, and you were able to follow the story okay without getting too confused, but for those who have questions about where I stand on certain controversial aspects of the lore or why I interpreted something the way I did, please allow me to explain my thought process and clarify everything as best as I can. *Also, for those who maybe haven't read any of the books (or my works) or played all of the games, SPOILER ALERT.*

THE END OF THE TRILOGY

First of all, The Nightmare House assumes that the original novel trilogy is a standalone series as advertised, meaning even though it may still be a FNAF series that shares ideas with the games, it is set in a different continuity than both the games as well as the newer Fazbear Frights series.

When the first novel came out and was met with some disappointment over not being directly tied to the games, Scott clearly stated that it was intended to be enjoyed as a separate continuity. In some of the Game Theorists' more recent FNAF videos, MatPat has noted many similarities between the games and novels, which makes sense given that they're both created by the same person.

However, despite these shared ideas, it still stands to say that the books are indeed separate from the games, with The Fourth Closet being the official end to this particular storyline with nothing planned to continue it on Scott's end (excluding the graphic novels).

LET THE DEAD STAY DEAD

That said, my story also assumes that William Afton and Circus Baby are both, in fact, dead. I'll say upfront that I was never too fond of the idea of making Afton immortal and somehow surviving the fiery blaze. In the final book, we see the trapped children being freed and Afton burning in flames, very similar to what we see in Pizzeria Simulator, which I think is a fitting end to the original game series. In my mind, this perfectly symbolizes Afton finally meeting his fate in hell, and having him somehow surviving once again makes any other attempted ending to his story pointless as there would always be doubt over those alleged deaths, too (I didn't want to get into anything related to Glitchtrap). The exact same goes for Elizabeth. While having both her and Charlie still be alive might make an interesting fourth story, who's to say any other way I or anyone else finds to kill her off would be permanent? She and Afton may both be fierce and powerful villains, but even they are not invincible. As Jessica reminds us in the final book...everyone dies (p. 175).

I think I speak for a lot of people when I say that while one miraculous survival may make for an interesting twist, having someone continuing to survive with no logical reason just becomes frustrating. Afton supposedly died once at the end of the first book, so for him to survive again after being incinerated was a can of worms I didn't want to open. Once again, the same goes for Elizabeth. If her and Charlie's robot bodies can survive being stabbed, who knows what else they're capable of surviving? This makes it more difficult to come up with a good, permanent way to put an end to Elizabeth's reign of terror, doesn't it?

THE INFAMOUS TWIST: CHARLIE'S A ROBOT! WHAT TO DO?

This brings us to Charlie. Figuring out what to do about Charlie was, without a doubt, the most challenging part of the story, as well as the most controversial, given some of my reviews. In fact, if the mysterious fate and future of Charlie were all to talk about in terms of the ending, I would've been okay with leaving it a mystery and imagining that, however it happened, she and John went off to have a happy ending, but since there were more loose ends that I felt needed to be resolved, coming up with an answer on Charlie was inescapable. Trust me when I say this: I would have loved to have Charlie live again in the flesh. In fact, one of my early "storyboard" ideas was to actually have both her and Elizabeth survive the incident with Henry's suicide robot: Charlie would meet John and they would perhaps go into hiding together while Elizabeth, fueled with anger and hatred, would try to lure her out of hiding by somehow tracking Sam down, and this would eventually lead to their meeting. It was an interesting idea with some potential, but I ultimately decided against it, for both the aforementioned reasons and things I will elaborate on later.

The way I see it, Charlie needs closure, too. Now, we're led to believe by Elizabeth that the Charlie we've come to know isn't the real Charlie, "not even the soul of Charlie" (The Fourth Closet, p. 314). Instead, she's apparently a sentient robot and nothing more. Perhaps this was indeed Scott's intention; however, not only am I not at all fond of this, but personally, I find it difficult to actually believe it. This is a fictional world involving human souls being trapped inside lifelike yet still lifeless bodies. Remnant, Scott's newest addition to the lore, may be able to provide the animatronics themselves with a certain type of power (though I'm still not sure exactly what in this confusing universe), but I think that it would still take an actual soul to actually bring them to life the way that they do.

Think about it: the main animatronics seen in the first book had souls, which carried over into the third book. Even Circus Baby herself had a soul, making her entire character a combination of her raw capabilities (the rage she spoke of) and the little girl trapped inside (hence her adoration of Afton). So...if all of these other robots did have a soul attached to them, why should Charlie be the only exception? What makes her the one to be only a robot with no soul? Yes, she was "brought to life" by Henry's despair and agony, which I am willing to believe did have a profound impact on the life-likeness of her in robot form, but I simply can't believe that that's all there is to it, with the real Charlie's soul from years ago being completely irrelevant (aside from a few brief mentions). Again, other readers might be fine with such as setup, and Scott himself may have had such intentions, but it didn't really make sense to me, especially since Elizabeth has proven herself to be rather jealous and spiteful throughout the final novel, which makes it harder to believe that everything she says is accurate (have you ever tried arguing with someone who clearly had it out for you?).

After much self-debate, I eventually decided that my running theory was that the real Charlie's soul was indeed residing in her robot bodies, alive yet connected to her fake bodies in such a way that she was still limited in certain functions, mainly her memories. The idea was that the form of remnant used on her the night of her kidnapping (The Nightmare House, ch. 16) was an inferior, early version that didn't work as well as it was supposed to, and since she didn't actually die from impalement, her soul wouldn't necessarily latch onto the nearest animatronic suit (Afton's) but rather found its way home and into another. Therefore, although Charlie may have ultimately been a robot who had to rely on her body's limited capabilities and memories, the real Charlie was still buried within. As a result, The Nightmare House assumes that even though Charlie and Elizabeth's robot bodies may be alive and sentient to a certain degree, whether from love, desperation, or rage, there was still a soul inside, hidden so deeply that nobody (Henry, Aunt Jen, Afton, or Elizabeth) fully understood what was before them. Now, I could certainly be wrong about any of this, since this is all based on personal interpretation, but it's the idea I felt most comfortable with as I was writing.

All in all, I have no idea what Scott's intentions were for the end of this trilogy, but it seems to me like he purposefully left it open to interpretation. That said, there is actually a popular theory amongst fans that says that Charlie's soul was transferred to Elizabeth's body during the final moment, which would allow her to finally inhabit her fourth body (and could also explain how she, presumably, was present in the graveyard at the end of the final novel). It's an interesting theory that has potential for a good story, yet with no concrete proof to validate this that I am aware of, as MatPat would say: it's just a theory.

Given the lack of definitive input from Scott concerning what really happened to Charlie after that final moment at Aunt Jen's, it seems like all we can do is theorize and imagine. While some people might prefer the angle with Charlie being nothing more than a robot as advertised and returning in her fourth body, it just doesn't feel right to me. Before the more recent confusing parts of the lore came along, FNAF's most basic principle of moral logic as established in the games was that souls being trapped in an animatronic body was considered bad while freeing those souls from that fate was considered good. Maybe my approach to this debate is too realistic for a science fiction story (a definite possibility, knowing me), but I find it to be a bit out-of-character for a FNAF storyline to suddenly say that it's good for Charlie to remain in a robot body or even actually be a robot once all is said and done, even if she doesn't look or feel like one.

While some might still argue that it was the "piece of [Henry]" (The Fourth Closet, p. 322) that made robo-Charlie alive without a soul, that raises the question of what happens to her after her "death" since there would be no soul inside to "move on" like with the other murder victims, and I've already mentioned how I think having her body survive this "death" would overly-complicate the lore and prevent the story's ability for closure since Elizabeth should be able to survive too, given that her body is basically the same (how's that for a cliffhanger?). On top of that, I still can't see how it would make sense to have the real Charlie's soul be completely irrelevant from the entire storyline. After all, just like the other Freddy's victims, she was kidnapped by the same mastermind and was presumably killed in a very similar manner, (though it's never actually revealed how in the novels; another piece open to interpretation). In any case, why should we believe that she somehow got to skip the whole possessing-a-robot ordeal and be completely absent from the action? All of the other souls had to suffer through possessing a robot for a time and eventually made their departure once saved, so I simply couldn't bring myself to break the pattern in my story (especially since her game counterpart had to go through this as well, possessing the Marionette and later Lefty before finally being set free in Pizzeria Simulator).

If you still disagree with me, that's fine. Like I said, Scott seemed to intentionally leave it open to interpretation. I'm just trying to set forth and explain my standing on the debate, not start any arguments about who's right or wrong.

A QUICK TECHNICAL SIDENOTE

For those of you who may not have caught it, there is actually a plot hole in the novels concerning the timeline. In the first book, it is established that it has been ten years since the incidents at Freddy's happened (the abductions, the suicide, Charlie leaving, etc.), and that said events took place in 1985 (p. 3). Charlie also informs us that she is now seventeen at this point in the novels (p. 29). However, according to her famous tombstone at the end of the final book (which is probably still burned into many fans' minds), her birthyear is listed as 1980. This means that she should be fifteen in 1995, not seventeen. I realize the significance of the year 1985 from the Fazbear's Frights series, but I think fans of the games would be more familiar with the year 1987. So, as a quick fix for this plot hole, I simply set everything back two years. According to my storyline: The Silver Eyes takes place during the summer of 1997, The Twisted Ones takes place in the fall (around September) of 1998, The Fourth Closet takes place in the early spring (around March) of 1999, and then The Nightmare House takes place in April.

WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH REMNANT?

As far as remnant is concerned, I have mixed feelings. This mysterious substance has been the cause of some confusion and debate among fans. While it's been given more backstory in the new Fazbear Frights series, it was first featured in somewhat vivid detail in the final novel. I admit I had no idea where to go with it and ultimately chose not to get too involved in the fine details that I leave to Scott.

WHEN IN DOUBT, WRITE ABOUT SOMETHING MORE FAMILIAR

With most, if not all, of Afton's experiments involving heat, I chose to focus more on this aspect, using the symbolic and literary references to fire being both a creative and a destructive force, with the ability to destroy some things and purify others. That is why Charlie and Elizabeth's bodies were burned the way that they were. The intended image was that the same force that created their robotic bodies, fire and heat, was also what put them to rest and allowed the souls to finally be free, similar to how Pizzeria Simulator ended. I realize that from a suspenseful standpoint, simply burning their bodies so easily seems like a lazy way to do it, but as I previously mentioned, my story takes the role of simply being an epilogue to the main events of the novel trilogy. I realize that it's all a bit sketchy, but regardless of what I come up with, creating my own explanations in this crazy lore will always be questionable to some, especially since involving myself too deeply in the lore was never my intention.

THE PURPOSE OF MY STORY

Unlike some fans, I didn't hate The Fourth Closet. Sure, the twist was an unpleasant revelation and there were several minor things that didn't make much sense, but it was still a thrilling read. Basically, with the whole Charlie dilemma aside, the two big loose ends that I wanted to resolve with this story were (1) Carlton, Jessica, Clay, and Marla being left with no closure on Charlie and (2) Sammy's absence from the stories in light of his survival of the 1982 Halloween incident at Fredbear's (which is pretty much confirmed in The Fourth Closet, p. 308). As such, I wanted to write something that focused mainly on Sammy, and how his presence in the story helps both himself and the others fully come to terms with everything, particularly with Charlie.

I'll admit, I'm nowhere near as creative in the science fiction realm as Scott is, so I took the story in a more familiar and realistic direction: battling with grief and depression, which can take on many forms. In the games, William Afton is portrayed as a dark, mysterious mastermind whom we slowly learn about via hidden clues as the games progress, though it's never really revealed exactly why he is so evil and demented. While this mystery angle may work in the games based on their seek-and-survive setup, when it comes to the books, I feel that he comes across as being too one-dimensional for the main villain. In my quest to provide some backstory, I wanted to remind myself that he's still just a man and toy with the idea of something even more powerful being behind his insanity, one that fights its battles entirely in the mind and likes to hide and wait for the right time to strike.

This was the idea that started it all: what if Sam finally got to meet this dark entity ultimately responsible for his sister's death and his father's demise? In order to fully capitalize on this idea, there had to be a temporary break of friendship and trust with a loved one and/or close friend, which is where Kyle comes in, intentionally created to be the underestimated comic relief with no prior connection to FNAF who ends up being the one to destroy Afton's final standing creations and save Sam's life. Of course, Nightmare doesn't just go away so easily after one battle, but now Sam has a new source of hope going forward, a promise that he and the others will get to be with Charlie again one day.

It's definitely a different way to tell a FNAF story for sure, but as I said before, I'm not as gifted with science fiction compared to Scott Cawthon (though if you're interested in seeing me try my hand at something more focused on sci-fi, check out my sequel story "The Black Hood"). Some people may not like the direction I took with this story, but since I wanted to focus on Sammy and not revive any direct conflict from the novels, I figured that this was the best route to take. After all, assuming Sammy shares Charlie's natural curiosity (being her twin and all), after traveling across the country to his childhood home, it would only be a matter of time before he eventually discovers the truth about his father and sister, which would inevitably lead to a major mental breakdown once he realizes that his father showed such favoritism toward his sister rather than him. In essence, I was simply following what I considered to be the logical chain of events on the road to my desired goal of full closure.

APOLOGIES FOR ANY DISAPPOINTMENTS, BUT...

And on that note: I know that some readers still really wanted to see Charlie alive and actually able to be with her friends. Once again, even as I was building to the climax, I continued wrestling with the possibilities of bringing her back, but as I said before, given my belief that her soul really was inside that fake body, it's better this way in the long run.

I think I speak for many fellow fans when I say that the twist about Charlie was both surprising and a little disheartening, too. In fact, the best way to have Charlie be alive is to basically rewrite one or more of the books like TRX-1686, Fanatic97, and several other authors are doing. However, to fully accept the novels as they are and continue from the ending as written as I have done, I think the best thing to do with Charlie is to let her go rather than try to hold onto her in her robot form. To me, it's basically another example of the "immortality is a curse" argument. Even if she were to remain alive in robot form, either her teenage or adult body, she'd be constantly reminded every single moment that she's not a real person since a revelation like that is hard to forget. On top of this, I'm pretty sure that, even in this fictional universe, you can't really start a family with a robot, which would probably cause some additional heartache for her and John (assuming their relationship ever got to that point).

Some may not agree, but all in all, I think Charlie would end up being more miserable than ever in these circumstances, and quite frankly, I think she realizes this too. I've re-read her final moments with Elizabeth quite a few times, and honestly, she seems pretty determined to end everything once she knows the truth, and I find it doubtful she'd want to continue living like that. At least this way, she can be real again and everyone can rest assured that they will be together with her again one day in a much better place, just like with Michael and the other victims from Freddy's. Make no mistake: there is a promise for a happy reunion in the future, but it does mean a temporary goodbye.

If you still hate me for this, I'm sorry I've disappointed you. I know perfectly well how it feels to have a story you've come to love go in a completely different direction than what you want, but given all of my aforementioned interpretations and beliefs, I still think this is the best route to take concerning Charlie (unless you re-write the books to not contain to twist, as I've said before).

CLOSING THOUGHTS

So that's the story. I know it's not what some people wanted to see from a continuation of the novels, but I hoped that at least some people got something positive from it. This story really was a rollercoaster for me. I hope you enjoyed it, and am completely open to any more feedback. The lore, while confusing, is still very interesting and I would love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks again, everyone, and take care.