The revelation was too much of a shock to properly process immediately, but Elizabeth knew that it made sense. In hindsight, real Alison would never open himself up so carelessly; he made it far too easy to get inside and catch him, almost like this was the intent. And whatever his next step was going to be, they played right into his hands. The pizzeria was theirs, yet there was no feeling of victory or triumph they expected.

Instead, they felt watched.

There was no point in lingering any longer. They recorded all the conversations with Pete. If he tries to claim innocence to the police, they will have proof on their hands. Even so, this wasn't the worst of their problems. Elizabeth, her father, and Charlie made their way towards their car parked close to Frankburt's pizzeria and drove back home. Charlie was in the driver's seat while Elizabeth and William sat closely together behind him. As they drove through the woods back to the Afton home, all they had to wonder about was the next step they could take.

"Perhaps the real Alison is still in Japan?" Liz suggested. "This way, he can have dealings there and still have a public image here in Utah."

"Would explain why he never showed himself to Peter." Charlie nodded in approval.

"There must be more to it than that," William added with a quiet, grim-toned voice. "Alison's condition is deteriorating. I've seen as much. If he is still ill, he should be on the brink of death right now…And this is why he is getting desperate."

"You saw the effects of this illness; what would you say is…" Unfortunately, Charlie didn't have time to finish. A tall, black shadow crossed their path, appearing in front of the car for a split second and blocking their way, causing Charlie to reflexively press brakes. Elizabeth could barely hold herself on the seat as a sudden thrust nearly made her fly forward and hit herself off the front seat. "What the fuck?!" Charlie said with shock, but by the time their car stopped, the shadow was out of view. Suddenly, Elizabeth felt another presence…As she felt primal terror overtake her, making the blood in her veins freeze. Whatever just flashed before them was real, but it wasn't human, either…

"Charlie…We need to go now!" She beckoned for him, but it was too late. A sharp, piercing sound of ravenous claws crushing the bottom of their car ravaged Elizabeth's ears, and then, she felt their car slowly ascending from the ground. "OH MY GOD!"

"Get to me!" William shouted as he grabbed his daughter's hands and covered her with his own metal carcass. This was all they could do before getting tossed off the road by a ravenous beast. Elizabeth felt the world around her spinning for a few moments, causing a spur of nausea, which she had to hold back before the crash. The shockwave made her hit her head off one of her father's hands, but thankfully, the throw wasn't too high or charged. She didn't feel any blood coming out of her body.

"T-thank you…"

"Aargh!" Charlie wasn't as lucky without a cover. He shouted in pain as the car landed on the ground and its door shattered, making some glass plunge his skin. "What the…Are you alright?" He looked at Liz.

"I think so…You're bleeding. Let me help you."

"Not now!" Father interrupted as he helped Elizabeth and Charlie out of the wrecked car. The three of them were just off the road, surrounded by darkened woods with a dark silhouette standing on the road with a crimson glow emanating from its vile eyes. It was the Stalker. Elizabeth had only felt this terrifying presence once before, yet it remained engraved in her memory. Something monstrous, unnatural, bloodthirsty, and they as defenseless victims.

"It's it…" Charlie took out his pistol and pointed it at the monster. "The Stalker!"

"Stand behind me!" William commanded. "I'll fight it."

"No, Dad, you can't!" Elizabeth pleaded, realizing that the overwhelming odds were against him. "You haven't seen it fight; it's no match, no you!"

"It doesn't matter, I will not…I will not let it have you." William said sternly as he prepared for a battle. The Stalker saw this and let out a now-familiar demonic laughter before jumping from the road onto the grass and walking decisively towards the trio.

"Die, freak!" Charlie shouted and opened fire with an array of bullets piercing the Stalker's carcass before immediately ricocheting off its endoskeleton, not slowing it down for a moment. Even before they found no way to hurt or stall it, this monster was invincible.

"Stay away from my daughter!" Springtrap shouted and rushed towards the Stalker as quickly as his state allowed him, giving Elizabeth a glimmer of hope for just a split second. He was her father, after all, the man who overcame countless adversities and suffering, a real hero at heart. What couldn't he do? But all of this hope was crushed the moment Stalker raised its hand and grabbed that of William's as he was about to hit his adversary. In one single movement, it immobilized the animatronic before he could touch Stalker.

"Weak." A distorted, low-pitched, and mocking voice echoed from the Stalker, making Elizabeth feel her heart skipping a beat. The last time she saw Stalker, he didn't utter a word; she didn't think he could, but his speech proved her to be utterly wrong. The Stalker pushed William away before forcing him to the ground, stepping at the top of his metal carcass with his heavy-clawed foot.

"Who…Who are you?" William asked with a trembling voice as he bravely looked into the monster's crimson eyes.

"Long time no see, Mr. Afton…We both changed a lot since our last meeting, didn't we?" He said in a malicious yet playful voice, which made Elizabeth shudder. Could it be…"

"A-Alison…?" William spoke up, barely able to contain his own shock.

"Bingo!" Alison responded with cathartic satisfaction. "You didn't think I would simply leave you to your own devices, did you? If only the retards that I sent to New Harmony back then told me the truth about what happened to you…"

"Don't hurt my father!" Elizabeth shouted and took a shot as well, this time aiming for the Stalker's exposed head. She remembered what Charlie taught her and tried her best to focus, not allowing her hands to shiver. In the end, only one bullet got to hit Alison's eye, but it was enough to force the ravenous beast to recoil and give Father some opportunity to move away.

"Is that the gratitude for saving your life?" Alison said spitefully. "Or would you prefer being pierced by Baby's claw?" The monster rushed towards Elizabeth and pushed her to the ground as she dropped her weapon. "There are no contracts now, only you and I!"

"Let her go!" Charlie's voice rang from behind, making Alison turn around and see a young detective pointing his weapon at the fiend in front of him. "I…I've been waiting for this for a long fucking time, Alison!"

"Really?" The monster said in a mocking tone, switching his focus towards Charlie and looking over him with his crimson, merciless eyes. He wasn't behaving like a predator anymore, for he didn't hunt out of necessity…He enjoyed every single moment of it. "Then why are you so afraid?"

After those words, Alison leaped towards Charlie as the detective unsuccessfully attempted to shoot the monster down, only to end up in his embrace. He tried to resist, of course, but Alison's grip was unbreakable. He covered Charlie's mouth with his metal hands, preventing him from screaming.

"CHARLIE!"

He attempted to reach out for Elizabeth after hearing her scream, but it was too late. He was in Alison's grasp entirely. With the prisoner in his hands, the monster disappeared into the shadow without a trace.

…

The address Chris gave them brought the trio to the outskirts of Hurricane, a house located near the woods in a remote place. Mike told him that they lived quite far from the city center, and now Jim saw how far exactly he meant. By the time they reached the doorstep of a dark, abandoned house, the night had already fallen, and it was hard to find their way in the forest; flashlights were the only saving grace. They didn't talk much during their trip. All were consumed by anticipation of what was to come.

And now they were finally here.

Chris walked in front of Chun and Jim until, eventually, he simply froze in a single spot and stared at the house before them. The animatronic looked down in silence, and even though his eyes couldn't display emotion, the way his energy simply left his body told Jim enough.

"Are you alright?"

"It's just…It's strange to see a home like this. It feels so empty and…Lonely." The animatronic's quiet, regretful voice echoed in Jim's ears.

"Is this the place?" Chun asked.

"Yeah."

"It seems lovely…To live far away from the public and be able to go out for picnics every other day."

"It was lovely, and it's not anymore."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to bring up old memories," Chun said with sympathy. "So, do you think your father was here?"

"Maybe he didn't reach it yet…We should check inside." Chris suggested, but soon after, an echo of loud, metal steps echoed from their left.

"Did you hear that?" Jim asked.

"Something is coming…Be ready." Chun advised.

Soon, two figures emerged from the forest. One of them was large and covered in a rusty carcass, which Jim quickly recognized as Springtrap. A young woman with red hair walked beside him, holding the animatronic's hand.

"We have to help him, Dad. I don't know how, but we have to!" She sounded scared and distraught, yet her voice sounded familiar. It was Elizabeth, Chris's sister, that Jim met in the church before moving to New Harmony.

"Please, calm down; we will find a way, but rushing back there will just make us easy targets for him! We must…" Springtrap spoke with distinguishable patterns of speech, a sight that caught the priest off-guard, even if he should've expected it after Chris's stories. Shortly after, the animatronic looked up as both he and Elizabeth went silent. "Who are…Chris?" His eyes focused on Ennard as echoing disbelief and shock emerged in his voice.

"Hi, dad…I can explain it."

"And you, too." Springtrap looked at Jim as his voice grew harsher.

"Never expected to see you talk…"

"Lizzy?" Ennard looked up at his sister and spoke with awe. "You're…You're big!"

"Well, we have what we came here for, I suppose." Chun sighed and spoke up, turning all attention to himself. "And all with extraordinary stories to tell…"