Elizabeth was right; they both needed some time to mull over what happened last evening. When Charles sat in front of Kyle Kayarn and pressured him for answers, he didn't have a single doubt in his mind that a chance of getting more information was worth risking a potential scandal breaking out. After all, after he spent years trying to find a trail as good as this, this was nothing but another necessary step, wasn't it? But when he saw Elizabeth stress out about it, Charlie started questioning himself, though it took some time before he processed his thoughts. He didn't consider that this was her job and that she would cling to it. The detective assumed that Elizabeth was as determined to sacrifice her own commodities for the same of the investigation, but was there any reason for that? She wasn't the one clinging to the past. She was trying to let go of it and try to live a life unburdened by it, the life Charlie just jeopardized…It was incredibly arrogant for him to do it.

It was hard not to think about Elizabeth, about the pain and disappointment in her voice as she walked away; she was worried that her life was about to take a turn for the worse. Still, he tried to push those intrusive thoughts to the back of his mind when he came to the department with some new leads for Cody to look over.

"Charles!" He heard a stern voice as he was about to take a turn toward Cody's office. The young man sighed and turned around to see an older detective with ailing white hair and a beard make his way towards him. Charlie tried not to show it, but he couldn't help but let out a very disappointed sigh. Of all the people he could've chosen to bother on their job, it had to be him today.

"Mr. Owens?" Takaliken wise his eyes.

"Are you doing alright?"

"Yes, good enough."

"I wouldn't be certain about that." Owens undercut him, making Charlie realize that this wasn't just a random check-up.

"Did you want something?"

"An explanation. I heard that a brawl broke out in the 'Royal' club last night. Not an unusual occurrence for places like this, but people were talking about how a police officer took part in this." Oh, so here was where this was going. "I even got to look at a photo one of the witnesses made; you can imagine my surprise."

"No one got traumatized in the end. It doesn't matter." Charlie said calmly and shrugged it off, and judging by Owens's expression, he didn't appreciate it.

"This isn't a laughing matter. What were you doing there, Takaliken?"

"I was off-duty and decided to take some time to unwind; that's not unusual, is it?"

"I didn't take you for a man who would spend time in nightclubs, and even if so, you can't stain the department's reputation like that."

"I didn't start a fight, just defended myself."

"And yet they say you provoked that man."

"People get fiery when they're caught in an argument; surely you understand this, too."

"It's too careless on your part." Owens pushed even more. He wouldn't let this conversation end until he got what he wanted. Charlie had no doubt about that. "Not to mention that it seems you wanted to meet this man for some reason…"

"I don't have to share all about my life outside of the job."

"No, you don't, and I won't force you to. But wherever you go and whatever you do…Remember that you have an image to uphold. Understood?

"I wasn't the one who started it…"

"Understood?" Owens spoke in a stern tone, leaving Charlie no other way out.

"Understood."

"Good. Let's hope this doesn't ever repeat, Charles. You can get back to your duties."

Finally, they didn't have to drag it out any longer. Charlie made his way to the office, only taking one swift glance behind him to make sure that Owens didn't watch him. He didn't want him to become too nosy when it came to this unorthodox investigation. Cody, on the other hand, had to know more.

"Finally, you show up…You know you look like you didn't sleep for about a dozen nights?" Cody said jokingly the moment Charlie entered the office.

"Do I?" The detective chuckled as he slid into the nearby chair.

"Something funny must have happened, so don't hold back on me." The archivist smiled; he was always intrigued by Charlie's work in the field, a stark contrast to his own job in the office.

"I was in a club talking to a guy that worked in Fazbear Inc. some time ago…He was a little emotional, then a little violent, but at least he told me something new."

"Was that the lead that woman set you on?" Cody said with clear curiosity in his voice.

"Yes, and why does it matter?"

"Well, you went in a club together, didn't you say she worked there? So you know, you could save a couple drinks together and…"

"For god's sake, do you have only one thing on your mind?" Charlie's voice grew annoyed. "I don't even like clubs. We came there to find that man and try to get him talking, not actually waste our time on drinks."

"How do you survive being so boring sometimes? I have no clue…Oh well, as long as you two were happy with that, I guess it's not my business."

"We…She wasn't too happy about me getting pushy with my questions and provoking him, and it ended up with both of us being kicked out of there and her boss saying he'll have to talk with her tomorrow."

"Oh shit, that never ends well."

"She's quite worried, probably with good reason…"

"Gonna check up with her? I mean, it's your operation that fucked her up so…"

"I will later today, just not sure if she'd actually want it after yesterday."

"She just needs some time to wallow to herself. I mean, don't we all need that sometimes?" Cody joked. "She'll want to make up sooner or later, and you probably shouldn't make her wait, you know?"

"I won't…"

"Oh, don't worry, all couples have those fights."

"Fuck off." Charlie chuckled and shook his head. Cody was right, though; his actions resulted in this incident, and it was worth talking about.

"Always a charmer, eh? I distracted you a little there. You wanted to tell me something about that guy you questioned?"

"Yes, actually. He said he had two friends gone missing, both of whom also worked with Alison. And at least one of them got taken by that creature we saw on the cameras…"

"That creature, huh? Not that memorable of a name." Cody shook his head. "If this is who we are investigating, apparently, it needs a proper name like…Shadow stalker? I don't know, gotta help me here."

"Shadow stalker works, not like we know anything else about it. The point is that the person encountered the stalker near Fazbear Inc. warehouses in Hurricane.

"And my role in this is?"

"I'd like you to see if there's any info on what kind of things those warehouses stored and what they are currently used for if anything. According to my contact, there were some 'spare parts' there that Alison was interested in. I'll see if it's worth checking out. Can you look for anything we have on activities that were conducted there? Wouldn't want to go in blind."

"More digging to get on with, I guess…Don't worry, I'll find anything you want."

…

The dream continued, no matter how much William prayed for it to be over.

Or was it perhaps reality? After all the time he spent in the darkness, it was impossible to know for certain. There were far too many times he heard steps and whispers from outside his prison, but those people never freed him until now. He didn't dare to dream, but William remembered the flashes he saw. Those of the wall breaking down and a few people discovering him, of how they moved him into another place, examined him, apparently without even realizing that he wasn't a simple animatronic. He was too weak to show any voice or to move. Most of the time, Will couldn't even listen. But in those few moments, he gathered just enough willpower to reach out to the world outside. He heard his 'liberators' speak of Alison and a place called Fazbear Fright. A place where they brought him.

A place where he finally awakened.

It took time to get used to his grotesque surroundings as he wandered around. Rusty masks, shimmering arcade machines, very dark halls that were far too similar to one another for William to navigate with ease, all the wires, a child's voice he heard that forced him to follow it, this machine's programming still persisted…At first, he had no doubt that this was yet another twisted nightmare, but this one was different from all others. Far more clear, far more lucid, even though he couldn't speak and even his movement was restricted…William felt freer than before. He suffered the same fate as Gron all those years ago, and he saw Lockjaw knew how his soul fused with this mechanical body, eventually granting him control. William went through the same process now; there was no doubt in his mind. There was an explanation for his condition; there must have been an explanation for his surroundings, as well, and William knew where to start. He never stopped thinking about Elizabeth and where she could be, that no matter how far his daughter was, he would find her. But first, he needed to get out of there, and the only person who could help him was the only living soul in this building. The night guard.

The first night didn't end successfully, but William didn't stop to try. He maneuvered in the halls with shadows serving as his allies. He figured out where the office was, at least the direction. Every time he went a certain way, he would get called aside with a recorded child's voice. This meant that he had to become relentless in his approach. This was the only way to reach the night guard. Even now, he was close, but then…"

"Hello?"

The echo that made William stop just as he was about to reach the hall that, by his predictions, was adjacent to the office. The night guard would have nowhere to run now and then…William wasn't sure. He needed to talk, and the system didn't allow him to; all he had was writing and sign language, but he would figure out a way. But for now, all William could do was submit to his programming and rush into the nearby hall, the one with Foxy's shabby mask hanging from the wall with light coming out from one of his eyes. It was the one he created, William remembered, yet why was it used as a decoration? This entire place seemed like a sick dream, but William believed there was a way out. He saw an exit door already, but it was locked; at least if he caught the guard, he might get the keys.

When the effect finally wore off, William made his way back to the office. As he noticed, it took some time for the night guard to reinstate the system, which allowed Will a window of time to reach the night guard. Today, he got closer than last time until, eventually, he paved his path. It was hard to evade cameras, but William had enough time to survey the area around him and realize the spots where the cameras were. It was easier to avoid them. Eventually, William finally made his way to the corridor covered in dark green light with a glass window on his left. The animatronic turned around and peered inside.

He finally saw.

At first, he saw a living man sitting in an office on the opposite side of the window. His eyes were wide open as he stared at the animatronic before him. William could see him recoil as his hands shook, making him freeze in fear. Complete silence, only occasionally broken up by heavy breathing. This was William's opportunity to run and get into the office, but something stopped him from moving at all, and it wasn't an external source this time. It was the reflection of the shades of which William could see in the glass. A withered, tattered animatronic, a grotesque hybrid between man and machine, both parts becoming weak and pathetic shades of their former selves. A brilliant engineer and loving father, his body is now crushed into a mutilated, disgusting corpse. An animatronic performer that once struck joy into the hearts of children lost all of his golden color, which turned into a dark, rusty green; countless holes pierced his carcass while his endoskeleton was consumed by rust. A freak nature that he has become…The moment of shock allowed the night guard to press the button.

"Ahahah!"

The echoing laughter of a child was the next sound cue that William received from the system, once again forcing him to submit. Any chance of victory was now shattered into a hundred pieces as his legs once again carried him deeper into the dark hall, further away from the night guard. But something was different this time.

The laugh persisted.

As William crossed the nearest hall, he found himself in a much different place. Instead of the prolonged, dark, and wet hallway of this new prison, he got transferred to, he saw light. In any other situation, it would've been a welcome change, yet now he didn't feel joy or relief. The light unveiled another large room, the one that shouldn't have been here, the one that couldn't be here. The dining room of Fredbear's family diner with two golden animatronics, Fredbear, and Spring Bonnie standing on the stage. The child's laughter didn't stop, only becoming louder and louder with each step William took toward the alluring stage…Soon, it turned into a teenager's laugh and then showed a malicious, depraved side.

"You heard the little man. He wants to give Fredbear a big kiss!"

Mike's voice…The four shadowy figures appeared in front of William, holding a small, fighting child in their hands as they forced him to get closer to the animatronic's jaw. Suddenly, he remembered that day, how he ran towards the dining room, how he tried to make those fools stop and save Chris from their grasp, how he heard the sound of Fredbear's teeth crushing his son's skull…It was unbearable.

He ran towards them, yet a door emerged before William and closed his off. It was made of heavy metal, similar to the ones he used in the previous restaurant, but this time, it had a large glass window, allowing him to see what was going on inside. And the laughter became worse with every second…

"Dad…" A childish voice echoed from the other side, a desperate plea that someone aimed directly at him. "They will kill me; please, Dad, help!" The four teenagers showed no mercy as they forced the little boy into the animatronic's jaws, bringing closer the moment that Will had been dreading and expecting at the same time. Here he was, a disgraced father reliving his worst nightmare again. He hit the door and attempted to push through it, but it was like trying to move a mountain. All he could do was to leave his mouth wide open and look as Fredbear's teeth were plunged into Chris's skull. No tears, just screams.

The silence.

William fell on his knees as the illusion around him slowly regained its original form…He wasn't awakened to feel joy or relief. The reality was far harsher than any of his dreams. He was awakened because William still felt that somewhere out there, a young girl suffered in silence, still waiting for her father to return to her.

And he will find her.