Charles's investigation took a most unexpected turn. He believed that the message of Hano Akira was the only lead he and Elizabeth had and the only way for them to access the truth, and now…He knew almost everything. The pieces fell into place perfectly, and after having some time on his own, Charlie decided to accept it. The animatronic that came to their house and the one they allowed to stay was indeed William Afton, and everything he told was true. There were still many questions that remained unanswered, and while Elizabeth was baking some biscuits for herself and Charlie, the young detective took an opportunity to talk with William in the living room as they monitored the news in case anything relevant to Fazbear Inc popped up. It was strange, sitting on the same sofa as a zombie animatronic, but Charlie knew that he should expect anything from this investigation, no matter how insane.

"Do you think my father ever regretted killing those kids?" Charlie asked William, still hoping that Gron wasn't a complete monster.

"As far as I know, his mind became one once he became Lockjaw. He was no longer plagued by his schizophrenia. He must have regretted it, but he had to carry on." Will responded grimly.

"I understand…"

"Listen, Charlie." The animatronic spoke up. "I see you're spending a lot of time with Elizabeth with this investigation the two of you are doing. You're a young man and a young woman, and I know how those types of friendships often end up." Charlie felt a little awkward as his eyes started running around. Getting along with a girlfriend's father was always one of the trickiest parts of a relationship, especially when he was an animatronic murderer…And when Charlie didn't have a concrete answer. They were more than just friends at this point, but the enthusiasm with which Elizabeth sucked his cock was the last thing to mention before her father. "So, are you together?"

"It's been hard to figure out with how busy we are…But I'm fond of her, yes. She's beautiful and very kind; I'm not sure I would've gotten this far without her support." Charlie admitted.

"She's fond of you, too…She wasn't shy about it when we talked one-on-one." William chuckled.

"Really?"

"Yes. You have her love; don't waste it. My daughter is delicate but also strong, and I am glad to see that after all those years, she is just as compassionate as I remember her. She deserves the most loving and supportive of boyfriends. You didn't give any reason to doubt you, but keep that in mind nonetheless. Are we clear on it?" He said sternly.

"Yes, sir…Will."

"Heya!" Elizabeth's jolly voice echoed from the kitchen as she ran into the living room carrying a plate of fresh biscuits in her hands. "How are you both doing? Made those for us before we get too hungry."

"Thank you, Liz, perfect timing." Charlie smiled as she put the plate on a small table behind the sofa; both Elizabeth and Charlie took a biscuit.

"I wish I still had my sense of taste," William said with disappointment. "This existence, it feels so…Hollow. If not for you, it would've been entirely empty."

"It's alright, Dad," Liz reassured him as Charlie took a deep breath.

"Now, if no one minds, I'd say we get back to the task at hand." He announced. "William, you say that you were supposed to be a part of some new branch of Alison's restaurants? Fazbear Fright?"

"Yes, probably another attempt to earn money from another town. Chris and I took care of it and burned the place down. And you? Found anything useful in Frankburt's?"

"Not so much in Frankburt's…" Elizabeth shook her head. "We found a couple of leads, but a new animatronic attacked us."

"We called it 'Stalker' for lack of a proper name, and it has been responsible for a series of disappearances of engineers and scientists around Hurricane."

"An animatronic? Abducting people?" William said with disbelief.

"It is a highly advanced one. Can climb walls, run, and gut people in seconds." Charlie explained.

"Alison must have created it to get more workers for his facility, and if Frankburt's is the former Fredbear's building…"

"The facility is right underneath it. And the police desperately avoid this case; they consider it 'paranormal'…We're practically the only ones who give a damn."

"Glad to see some things didn't change."

"Well, not the only ones." Elizabeth hinted. "There's Hano Akira."

"Ah, yes…A man who contacted me once and showed concern regarding the case. I assumed he was nothing more than a scientist who feared to become the Stalker's next victim, but there is an encrypted message he sent to the police a while ago. No one has decrypted it so far…We brought it here." Charlie recounted the story.

"Hano Akira, you say?"

"Does this name say anything to you?"

"No, it doesn't."

"Damn…Then it is still a dead end."

Their conversation was interrupted by an emerging broadcast on the TV.

"And now, to news from nearby towns!" A reporter spoke. "As you know, an ambitious project by the name of "Fazbear Fright" recently met its end as the building, along with all it contained, got burned to the ground. Today, Alison Bairren, the owner of the project, decided to speak to us on the matter. Over to you, Mr. Bairren."

They saw the man himself, just like Charlie remembered him from previous broadcasts.

"Is that him?" William said with suspicion. "Looks too healthy for a man who could die from terminal illness any year." Charlie agreed with Will on this. Alison had his cane, but even so, he seemed to be perfectly able to walk on his own.

"This loss is both extremely tragic and infuriating to everyone working at Fazbear Inc.!" Alison spoke, barely able to hold back his anger. "I would've never expected gas leaks to become so destructive towards my business, but I suppose there is a lesson to learn in that."

"People expressed their concerns about whether the same can happen at Frankburt's. What's your response to that."

"Frankburt's is completely safe! But I am willing to prove it if that's what the public demands. I will be heading there with a brigade of engineers and personally oversee the maintenance next night!" What a foolish mistake to open himself up like that when he knows he has enemies.

"What an idiot…" William said with pride and joy. "This time, he will not escape."

"We shouldn't act rash." Charlie shook his head.

"I am not wasting this opportunity! I am not confined by laws or contracts anymore…Next night, this monster will die."

…

This day was getting stranger by the minute. Jim could barely contend with sharing a room with a haunted animatronic telling him stories about an underground crime syndicate, murder machines, and a goddamn corpse inside Springtrap…Now, it turns out that a man he met in a church by complete accident knew much more than he pretended to know. After he confirmed his knowledge of Ennard, there was no point in denying him entrance. Jim had to welcome him in and call Chris to leave his hiding place. And now, the three of them sat at a table as if they were good friends, pouring tea into two cups in complete silence, at least for a while.

"Ah, green tea, always loved it…" Hano took a sip and smiled in delight while staring at Chris's metal body with pure awe. The boy didn't enjoy this and constantly evaded eye contact, which made Jim remember his shy nature. Eventually, the priest decided to get to the point.

"So, are you going to explain what kind of realization you had? We're still waiting." Jim raised an eyebrow and pulled Hano away from his trance.

"Ah, sorry, I was just too mesmerized by looking at this magnificent creation of man…Chris Afton, correct? You're an anomaly, my friend. I understand that this is a fate you didn't deserve and the one you didn't choose; I will not downplay it, but…It is incredible to look at this body."

"Do you know about other 'anomalies,' too?" Chris said coldly.

"The animatronics in Frankburt's Fantasy Land or Springtrap, as they called him?"

"No, Fredbear," Chris said, making Hano raise an eyebrow.

"I must have missed that one…"

"He attacked me yesterday. Was very strong and scary with red eyes, just like some kind of nightmare. I barely escaped." Chris explained, making Hano let out a pained sigh.

"Then the worst has indeed come to pass, and he has been unleashed."

"Who has been unleashed?" Jim spoke up. "Can you stop speaking in riddles? This is important."

"I will tell you, I am just not sure where to start…And I count on your secrecy as well. I trust you two are good people." Hano reassured them. "And you both suffered due to the chain of suffering and victimization which I helped to start, and you deserve an explanation."

"You knew Alison?" Chris hazarded a guess, and Hano nodded.

"Yes, I did…I even called him a friend once."

"So that's who you talked about back in the church?" Jim asked.

"Yes. Though back then, I was called by a different name, my real name. Chun Tai. I was once a doctor and an apprentice to one of the most brilliant minds I've ever known, a man by the name of Alei Gilbert."

"I've never heard of him before."

"He preferred to avoid publicity most of the time. He worked on research to prevent the epidemic of a new plague that had been tormenting the people of Japan, eroding their cells and forcing them to die while the doctors and scientists were powerless to stop it. Some called it 'super cancer,' but it was a new phenomenon. Ironic that it waned by now, but the consequences of Alei's treatment still persist…"

"What kind of treatment?" Jim wondered.

"Alei made a breakthrough. His team discovered a new element, the existence of which has been kept secret: viridium. The one with supernatural properties that could hold a human being's essence after their death…An anchor for a soul."

"I saw it…" Chris spoke up. "Alison had some of it in his facility; that's how I escaped, through connecting with it!"

"Viridium is a part of every animatronic, which allows the souls to possess them."

"But why?" Jim wondered. "Why use something so ungodly?"

"To give people an opportunity to live. Alei wanted to allow those who were destined to die from terminal diseases a chance to live in mechanical animatronic bodies infused with viridium. It was his idea to create Golden Frankburt, the one you know as Lockjaw. All of this is done in a guarded facility of RADSLA. He was its overseer, and I was the apprentice and heir who was privy to his secrets. But he needed sponsors for a project this ambitions, and he turned to America…"

"Is that how he contacted Alison?" Jim asked. "Why not someone more reputable?"

"He feared that the government would take viridium for themselves; he needed someone with personal stakes for this research, and that was Alison's father, Edward Bairren. He was terminally ill, and when he learned of this opportunity, he agreed to sponsor this research to save himself. He offered us money, resources, and his own son…Alison didn't have a good relationship with him, and he was more than happy to offer his scientific talents elsewhere. He became Alei's apprentice, as well."

"And this is how you became friends…" Jim concluded nothing surprised him anymore after what happened in the last few days.

"Yes. We worked on Frankburt together, a passion project. Dr. Tai and Professor Bairren." Chun looked down with sadness in his eyes. "Times changed. Edward died from his illness before we could finish, and Alei was murdered by a desperate lunatic in the streets, but Alison and I still continued working. It was good for a while…Until Alison told me that he was suffering from the same disease, his father did, a hereditary blight. He wanted to take the Animatronic for himself as quickly as possible before we could create more prototypes for our patients. He wanted it to become a part of his Empire and insurance for his survival. Once I realized that he didn't care about our patients, I decided to break off our partnership with a heavy heart…But he manipulated one of my scientists and made him open the way for himself and his allies. They took Frankburt, and they burned the entire facility down…" A lone tear fell from Chun's eyes. "I wasn't there when it happened, but many of my friends were, as were our patients. I was there, watching everything. Alei and all of our friends worked to burn to the ground. I had nothing left."

"And you blame yourself for all of this, don't you?" Jim wondered. "At least you would've never supported such a thing…"

"My sin is still great. I allowed Alison to continue his horrible actions for many years. He created a crime Empire that destroyed many lives, not even allowing them to have peace after death. All those experiments, all those manipulations…To eventually create a perfect vessel for himself and a perfect method of soul transfer. He wants to become immortal."

"I saw him not so long ago. He doesn't seem like a terminally ill man." Jim noted. "Doesn't even use his cane that much."

"There is a lot Alison hides…But not from everyone."

"What do you mean?"

"I stayed alone in Japan for years, living my life as a shell of my former self…Until Alison returned. Desperate, broken, and searching for a cure, he runs from his own Empire that is beginning to collapse, one incident after another. I believed this was my chance to change something. I could never atone, but I could stop this…Could stop people from dying because of my creations. I had my own allies, as few as they were, and we followed him back into Utah once he didn't find what he sought. A friend of mine infiltrated his facility and saw things that no other soul could. He did not survive having this knowledge…But he got out some key information. I sent a message to the hurricane police in an encrypted form to hide it in plain sight under another name, Hano Akira. A lead to be lost among countless others, a place where Alison would never look because of his arrogance. He believes the police are under his control with all the bribes and fear he enforces upon them. All that remains now is for us to return and reclaim it…And find others who would help us take Alison down. Assuming, of course, that you are with me." He looked at his companions with hope.

"I…Was afraid to go in last time." Chris confessed. "And I regretted it. My best friend is still there…I left her because I was too scared. But I need to fire her. That's what she deserves!"

"And you, Jim?"

"I follow the teachings that dictate to never turn a blind eye to evil…Not that I ever expected to be met with evil on such a scale, but if there is anything I can do to stop this madness, I'm in."

"Thank you…Thank you both." Chun smiled with pride. "Now, we still have to meet a few people. There was one detective in Hurricane I talked to, and then there is the matter of Chris's father…"

"He went to Hurricane, too." The animatronic said. "I don't know where exactly, but there's only one place that he will check out. Our old home."