"Finally! Did you decide to restore your sleep pattern, or were you just doing something else? Either way, I'm shocked!"

Cody's welcome was rather self-explanatory, and judging by his tone, he had something interesting to share. Perhaps it will even be enough to reduce Charles's annoyance, as he had to return to the office with barely any breather time.

"You know, you could've afforded to explain it in more detail than aggressively typing that I should 'get my ass to the office for something I can't miss.'" The young detective crossed his hands.

"Well, you're always up for the challenge of a new case or two. Sorry for assuming that it wouldn't change, I guess…" Cody shrugged and spoke with us with dribbled sarcasm. "But seriously, were you up to something nice?"

"Met with a childhood friend and shared a few drinks," Charlie said with a slight smile emerging on his face. He did not expect his investigative visit to Frankburt's to turn into a reunion, but he loved meeting Elizabeth after so many years apart. They were wonderful friends as children, and seeing her still enduring despite the trauma she must have gone through was inspiring. It reminded Charles that he didn't conduct this investigation just for himself.

"Is that you smiling? You must have had a really good time with him."

"Her, actually."

"Oooh…" A playful smile emerged on Cody's face. "Is she hot?"

"Wow, that was too direct even for you." Charles was unimpressed.

"I'm not asking for myself, of course…I told you you're taking your work too seriously and let it overtake all your life. You need a girlfriend!" Cody said with the confidence of a dozen men, making Charlie raise an eyebrow.

"And that will help me…How?"

"Well, you'd have something else to focus on. Fancy dates, shopping, movie nights…"

"You know I had girlfriends before and just ended up not devoting enough time to a relationship."

"God, you just can't be fixed, can you? Well, can you tell me if she's hot, at least?" He just wouldn't calm down until he got his answer. Charlie sighed, mentally picturing Elizabeth in his mind. Her wavy strawberry blonde hair, shining green eyes, a warm smile, and graceful, feminine mannerisms…

"Yes, she's beautiful." He wanted to compliment her on it when they first met, but more important matters were quick to arise.

"That's the first step…"

"Let's get to the matter at hand. You said you found something."

"Oh, I did! I scoured over the camera database and found one that is very close to the crime scene."

"I found one, too, but it was broken."

"Oh, no, no, not that one. There's another; it doesn't show the needed building, but it does show the alleyway with that other cam…I guess the designers wanted to build a circular system or something." Those were good news; Charlie couldn't blame Cody for bringing this up to him as soon as possible.

"Good. Did you see anything on there?"

"Eh…I didn't check it."

"Seriously?"

"I mean, can't spoil the surprise until Mr. Detective is here, can I?"

"Let's just have a look." Charles sighed and beckoned for Cody to put the image up. The image they saw was very dark, but Charlie could discern the alley he searched not so long ago, the one in front of Jacob Mann's house.

"So, this is around the time of the crime that the investigators established…Not sure if anyone checked out this camera already, but either way, I haven't heard about it."

"Hm, the other camera is working." Charles pointed at the one that was broken when he visited the alley; it looked perfectly fine on this recording. "It was the malfunctioning one."

"Hm…Now that's getting interesting." Cody moved the computer a little closer. All they could do now was watch and wait for the moment.

"It doesn't record sound, does it?" Charles asked after some time if they could hear what was going on nearby; it would be much easier for them.

"Nope, gotta wait and see."

And so they waited, and Charles had a lot of patience to spare. The moment he realized that the camera was still on that night meant that this malfunction could not be a simple coincidence. And eventually, this curiosity paid off.

It began with a slight color change in the spot right above the now-broken camera on the wall.

"Look, what is it?" Charlie pointed at the spot.

"Eh, you sure…Oh, wait, I see it too, now."

The color was still pitch-black, but a tint of bright crimson emerged at the top of it, glowing slightly brighter with each second.

Then, a hand.

A large, dark, grotesque limb that looked anything but human, but Charles had no doubt that it was a hand. It grabbed the camera and squashed it in a single instant, causing sparks to fly all around.

"What the loving fuck…" Cody stuttered while Charlie kept his watch. Moments later, the hand disappeared into the darkness. "What the hell was that?!"

"Someone who tries to remain undetected…"

"I noticed that I'm talking about climbing walls! Are we dealing with a freakin Spider-Man or what? And look at the size of that thing; who has such big hands and can crush a whole-ass camera?"

"Wait…" Charlie was still focused on the recording. The detective could swear he saw something flying in front of the camera: a couple of very small shards of glass. "Did you see? Someone broke the glass."

"Did they? Well, I guess if they can break a camera, they can break glass, too."

There were a few moments during which nothing happened, and the image remained static and silent. If not for the image of a broken camera before him, Charles could even assume it was some kind of hallucination.

That was until Charlie saw a shade making a leap. A swift one, from a point in the building that would only be covered by a camera that just got broken to the darkened space beyond anyone's reach. There was a single, faint flash of crimson in that darkness, much like when the camera got destroyed, but it didn't unveil anything.

"Holy fuck… I'm not the only one seeing that, right?" Cody said with fear.

"Try to rewind to the point where it was visible; there was a second there."

"Yeah, I'll try…" Cody began his work. "Here it is…I think."

Now, Charlie could see as much as possible. Just a second between it entering the camera's view and obscuring itself in the darkness. A shadow twice the size of a human leaping from the ledge without fear or reservation. And worse yet, it carried someone behind its back, someone who tried to resist, which was demonstrated by two rapid attempts to wriggle on his part, but they proved futile.

"What the hell are we dealing with here…" Cody's voice was overtaken by disbelief.

"I'm not sure…But whatever it is, it isn't human."

…

As expected, Blake had a wonderful mood set for the rest of the day, which Jim couldn't share. They have done a thorough search of the abandoned pizzeria, and even though all they found after their initial grand discovery were spare parts, the two full-fledged animatronics were more than enough. Blake called his crew, a couple of lads who Alison hired to do the same job as him; it was much easier and quicker to extract what they wanted while working together. Soon, the place was secured, and there was nothing that remained away from their prying eyes.

As for Jim, he mostly stayed on the side, occasionally helping his peers with some heavy lifting. His uncertainty and displeasure about the situation he found himself in didn't change. On the contrary, he found himself in even more doubt. Maybe he should try and save his own soul instead of Blake's? There was only so much he could do for someone who didn't want to listen.

At least now Jim understood that what he was bothered by was not as much the building as the animatronics within it. Especially the one behind the wall, the one they recognized as Spring Bonnie. Jim spent a while looking at it and trying to make sense of why he felt such aversion when looking at it. Was it the dirty, half-torn carcass that was a shadow of the animatronic's former self? Or perhaps the thought of this being the same machine that stood by Fredbear's side when Jim and his friends made the greatest mistakes of their lives? There was a strange odor coming from it, though Jim couldn't quite put it into words why he found it so. Something old and ailing, perhaps a little like rust yet still unique, in a way…It was hard to describe. Suddenly, Jim heard a loud metal drop.

"Hey there, careful with it! The boss will have our heads if we break an actual endoskeleton!" Blake said in anger as he watched some of his co-workers accidentally drop the other metal creature they found.

"Sorry, we're trying to be careful, but this thing is pretty damn heavy."

"Then don't make any quick moves, isn't it obvious?" Blake sighed. After ensuring that his men were doing their jobs, he finally turned towards Jim again. "God, working with some of those people is annoying…Gonna pray for them not breaking anything important?"

"To be honest, that is the least of our concerns." Jim sighed.

"Oh, come on, what now?"

"That thing…" Jim gave the endoskeleton a demonstrative stare. "I wasn't quite sure what it reminds me of, but I think I know now."

"What?"

"Ennard," Jim said grimly.

"Eh…Oh, you mean the freak that killed Mike and Lamar."

"Yes, exactly. That demonic skin-stealer…"

"You're being paranoid." Blake shrugged. "You know all endoskeletons look the same, right?"

"They aren't usually as torn…And this one is in shambles."

"I mean, how likely is it to be that one? And even if it somehow is, as my guys found, it's got no core anyway; it won't be able to work or move at all!"

Jim wasn't keen on continuing this discussion, and his luck came from a rather unexpected source.

There was someone at the door. Jim heard steps coming from the entrance, immediately making some of the workers look at each other and whisper quietly between themselves. Even Blake paused for a moment, unable to contain the genuine surprise in his voice.

"So soon? Okay, guys, time for a presentation!"

In a few moments, Jim saw a silhouette of a slim man enter the dining room. He had darker hair, and one of his eyes was covered with a black patch while he used an old cane to help himself stand his ground. It's been a long time since Jim saw Alison Bairren last time, and considering the rumors that surrounded him, the priest wasn't happy at the prospect of a reunion. He didn't seem to change at all during those years. As he saw his men doing the hard work, Alison let out a wide smile.

"Ah, just what I expected, my friends, impressive!" He exclaimed with an upbeat and chipper tone before turning towards the two animatronics.

"Welcome, Mr. Bairren." Blake talked to him in a polite and respectful manner, much more than he afforded others, even his supposed friend, Jim.

"So you have found those here?" The entrepreneur looked over Spring Bonnie and the endoskeleton.

"Yes, Mr. Bairren. I expected many things, but this is an absolute gift!"

"Indeed it is…Marvelous." Alison looked over the animatronics with confidence and determination, as if he could already see them playing their part to perfection on the booming horror attraction in New Harmony. "We will have to put those two to good use. Are you and your men up to this task, Blake?"

"Of course we are, Mr. Bairren."

"Good…And who is this?" The curious businessman turned towards Jim. "Perhaps my memory fails me, but I don't remember seeing this chap before."

"Ah, that's the friend I mentioned. He came over to help. Say hello, Jim."

"Alison, I suppose?" Jim looked at the man before him.

"So you heard of me, James? Good, good, I'm glad my people are spreading the news to their friends. In a way, you're one of us, at least for now, so how about we begin this partnership with a good old handshake?" Alison raised his hand and, for a split moment, stood completely upright. The cane turned from a crucial tool to a useless decoration, at least in Jim's eyes. By the time Alison extended his hand, he leaned on the cane once again.

"I'm sorry, but I'd rather not." Jim politely declined. "It's not really a partnership, and besides…No, forget it."

"Your loss, chap, your loss."

"Don't be upset at him, Mr. Bairren," Blake reassured him. "Jimmy is quite religious. That's probably one of his twelve hundred rules he has to follow not to sin or something."

"It's alright." Alison shook his head. "We're here to discuss business, not for pleasantries. Anything to report on those marvelous animatronics?"

"The endoskeleton doesn't have a core or processor, or whatever it's called…That ship won't fly unless there is some work done on it."

"That won't be a problem. I know people who can work on it." Alison said. "They have some spare cores and are remarkably good at installing them. What about the other one?" He looked at the rusty animatronic by the wall. "Ah, Spring Bonnie, one of my first inventions…Years weren't kind to him, but perhaps it's for the best."

"Do you want us to refine him?"

"No, I think we can leave him as is. Look at this withered thing. There is no more perfect setup for Fazbear Fright! No polishing is needed whatsoever. Now, let's get them to a more cleaned-up place and prepare them for the coming show…" He was about to get to his business, but one question remained on Jim's mind, which he couldn't leave unasked.

"Why now, Alison?"

"Excuse me?"

"Why return to business now?"

"That's a…Strange question." The businessman shrugged. "Any time is a good time when it comes to business, isn't it?"

"Yes, but people have been talking about you being basically gone for more than a decade and then returning out of the blue…Everyone was convinced that you abandoned the idea. What changed?"

"I never abandon my ideas, chap." Alison chuckled. "I was simply busy; there was a lot to work on and a lot to prepare…My company might have suffered in the eighties, but I'd never allow it to fall. Never."