Somehow, Elizabeth wasn't surprised that the investigation turned to interrogation and, hence, to a fight. Charlie tried his best, she had no doubt about that, but delicate topics like this were a sure way towards aggression and violence. Kyle wasn't a patient man, especially considering his drinking habits, and neither was Charlie, with how much he wanted to discover the truth. They were all very lucky that the bouncers came before anything too violent could happen, and no one got traumatized, at least physically.

However, it was still a horrific mess that would only become worse from there. Kyle calmed down and left the club, wandering around and still occasionally sobbing to himself. Elizabeth overheard some of the things he and Charlie discussed, and the voice with which Kyle spoke about Alison and the mysterious figure bade her body convulse in a reflexive shiver. Whatever was going on, there was something deeply, horribly wrong with it.

"I expected better from you, Afton!" One of the club's administrators, Ronald Bucker, took her and Charles for an opportunity to vent at them. He was an impatient man who was always within a few wrong words from descending into a seething rage. "We give you an opportunity to bring in guests, but you are responsible for their behavior. You bring this man in once, and he already gets into a fight?! Absurd!"

"Please, this was just a misunderstanding!" Elizabeth pleaded to him. "I know Charles very well, and I can swear, he isn't a violent person. I saw how it started; it was Mr. Kayarn who began the fight."

"So what? He's been a regular for months and somehow never caused any trouble before, and after meeting your friend, he somehow got violent? Quite the company you keep, Lizzy. This dear friend of yours is a bloody provocateur; other guests told me he pushed Kayarn towards this."

"Just stop it." Charlie's stern voice echoed from behind. Until now, he sat on a nearby chair and looked at the floor with his exhausted eyes, but now he finally looked up, not seeming happy in the slightest. Elizabeth took a deep breath, hoping that it would be fine. "She has nothing to do with it. If you have problems with me, say it to my face."

"Who do you think you are, young man?" Bucker said loudly and walked towards Charlie, making him stand up. "You dare to interrupt after disrupting the evening in the way you did…"

"I simply came to talk. What would you suggest, not defending myself against Kayar at all?"

"Maybe don't be such an insensitive schlob? Whatever you two talked about, it wasn't a very happy matter for him!"

"And? I had to discuss this; I didn't mean to offend or hurt anybody, and I'm not apologizing for this."

"Oh, you smug bastard…"

"Stop, both of you!" Elizabeth stepped in between the men. "I don't think you're changing each other's minds, so…Maybe we should stop before it gets worse?

"You're right…" Charlie sighed, and so did Ronald.

"Get out of my club," Bucker said with spite as he looked at Charlie. "And don't ever come back, understand?"

"Loud and clear."

"Piss off, then…" He said and looked at Elizabeth. "You're free for the rest of the evening, too; gotta talk with you tomorrow." He spoke coldly, making Elizabeth clench her teeth. She couldn't lose her job. That was her only source of income for now.

"Mr. Bucker, I…"

"Not now! I have a mess to clear up, so just go."

"Fine." Elizabeth sighed; she and Charlie had no other choice but to make their way towards the exit. She couldn't lie. It stung. Of course, such an outcome was expected, but Charlie gave her a very clear-cut promise which was broken. When they were outside, Elizabeth finally felt the silence of the night's street around her and looked down in shame.

"Fuck…" She said quietly.

"Are you alright?" Charlie checked up on her; his question sounded genuine, and for some reason, this annoyed Elizabeth even more. Wasn't it obvious how she felt? Charlie remained unshaded by what happened.

"I mean…I did have my boss shout at me and say something no worker wants to hear." Elizabeth shrugged and spoke with dry sarcasm.

"You'll get through this. I'm sure he won't fire you."

"How can you know? He doesn't usually forgive mistakes like this!"

"You said you were a good worker; why would he fire you unless he's stupid? And if he is, it probably better for you to find another boss anyway."

"What?" Elizabeth lashed out. "I'm sorry, but you're not the one who is about to become unemployed here! I need money, and it's not like I have a lot of opportunities to quickly jump to!"

"Listen, I'm sorry it turned out this way, I really am, but…"

"What?"

"It wasn't for nothing." Charlie tried to reassure her, but Elizabeth did not feel like listening. We came here to get some info, and we did. Kyle might not have reacted well, and still…"

"You provoked him! I heard how you talked; he was about to have a breakdown, and you just pushed him to it." It was so callous on his part that Elizabeth couldn't help but put some of the blame on Charlie, and his emotional obliviousness didn't help the matter, either.

"He was going to have it either way; it was obvious about halfway through, but I needed to get as much as possible out of him. Now I know that this 'thing' that we saw hunted down some of his friends, as well, one of them near a Fazbear Inc. warehouse…That's what we're gonna check out next."

"We?" Elizabeth raised an eyebrow.

"Weren't you in on this?"

"I was, but now I have bigger issues to worry about, like getting a new fucking job!"

"I said it will probably be fine…"

"No, it won't!" She raised her voice.

"I can help you with this; I've got connections, and a couple of places that I'm sure will be glad to have you."

"Would've been nice if you'd been more careful in the first place…"

"I can't risk it, Liz." Charlie shook his head. "This might be the key to the biggest secret of our past! We got this chance after twelve years. We might never get it again. No one even cares enough to investigate it except us!"

"And that's all that matters for you? To learn about our past?" Elizabeth sighed. "We have a present now, too, you know. I'm not sure about you, but I care about keeping it! I want to learn the truth too, but if we end up being jobless and hated by everyone, what's that point?" She spoke from her heart, hoping that Charlie would listen. Ever since they reunited, the only driving force for him was this investigation; it was everything to him, and even though Elizabeth understood it, she didn't feel the same. "What if we don't like the answers we find? Do you think I like knowing that my dad killed children? You think Gron and Lynda wouldn't do the same to protect you?" Those words seemed to echo in Charlie's heart as he looked away and went silent for a moment.

"I…I've come too far to just stop now. You must understand."

"Of op course, you can't…Have a good evening." Elizabeth shook her head and wandered off.

"Elizabeth, wait."

"Just not now, okay? I have stuff to deal with thanks to that fight…"

He didn't insist, which made the woman feel relief for the first time since entering the club on this evening. They had a lot to deal with…And all she needed was a break.

…

"Boss, you there?"

"Yes, Blake…You know that if someone doesn't respond to your calls, they're probably busy?"

"I…I'm sorry, boss, but this is urgent!"

"As if my work isn't urgent. I can't focus with all the buzz coming from your calls, so very well, I'll hear you out."

"It's about my first night, I…Fuck, you didn't tell me about this!"

"Calm down, Blake, or I'm going to end this call right now. Take a deep breath and explain what is going on. Is it something about your first night? No one broke in, I hope."

"No…"

"Then what's the issue here?"

"It's…It's Springtrap, he's moving around like a fucking…He's alive!"

"What? What the hell are you talking about…Nonsense, my engineers made sure that the animatronic was deactivated. It cannot move. And even if it was, why would it? Did you try and 'test out' the audio system by any chance?"

"I…No, I only used it when it already started moving to force it away!"

"Blake, be honest, did you drink before the job?"

"W-what? No?"

"Any…Stimulating substances, perhaps?"

"For fuck's sake, I swear I didn't he, it actually moved! I don't know what it wanted, but I saw it on the cameras…He was moaning, and I think he had some trouble walking as if he was wounded or something…But then again, he's just a robot…But he didn't move like one, I swear! I didn't know if it was a human or…I don't fucking know, it makes no sense?"

"I see. That's…Unexpected."

"What do you mean?"

"This animatronics was not supposed to move. He's been rusting inside that safe room for what, a decade now? It just makes no sense whatsoever…Do you know what he was trying to do?"

"No…"

"Did he seem aggressive?"

"Not really…"

"And you say he reacted to the audio system?"

"Yes."

"Good, that simplifies the matter. I'll need you to guard him for a few more nights; my engineers are working on the other animatronic you found now, but once they're done, they'll take a look at Springtrap after that."

"What, you want me to spend more time with…That?"

"You have simple means to keep him away, so there's that. Leaving him unguarded is not an option, and conducting any last-minute guard transfers would be…Suspicious."

"To whom?"

"To anyone who might want the job in the future. I hired you because you are a dedicated man, Blake, and there's no better person for the job."

"And what if it catches me?"

"Did it?"

"Well, not yet…"

"Then how about I double your salary, and you get on with your job for now? I promise it won't stay like that for long…You have my permission to use the audio system however you see fit during the night. It will be completely safe as long you keep an eye on him. And your office is by the exit anyway."

"I…Maybe if you triple it."

"I'll consider it depending on how many nights you have to go through. Deal?"

"…Deal."