And now it begins...Puppet/Charlie showing everyone everything she's learned of Afton and what he's been up to, but it might not cover every single thing. Special thanks to J-Gems' work on YouTube with the Interviewed series and the Remnant Trials, Joder Love's "After the Trials" (Canon to The Interviewed), as well as "Tunnel Vision (FNAF/VHS)" by St4tic, also on YouTube.

Chapter Fifteen

The Obsidian Network

"What I, William Afton, am about to do is not within the rules and guidelines of Fazbear Entertainment, but separately while still using what I have created. Here at Afton Robotics, I begin what may be the beginning of the greatest discovery of all time, and might be the answer we as a species have been hunting since the dawn of time. I never consciously sought it as a man, but fate apparently has dropped it before my very eyes in the cruelest way possible.

"There is no complex explanation yet as it's a new discovery; otherwise, we all would know of its existence by now. I am personally calling this source 'Remnant'. Say it is the essence of life that latches onto anything inanimate nearby as we die - namely painfully, as it seems to be the case. I have a few subjects, to begin with, acquired through...disastrous and often unlucky means. Call it a necessary evil and the opportunity of a lifetime.

"This experiment is illegal, I admit it, but it's a choice I'm willing to make.

"The animatronics I made with my own hands - no, not the ones Henry has made with me, but the Funtimes of Circus Baby's Pizza World - are potential subjects, because of what I've uncovered with Circus Baby, the one who ripped my little Elizabeth apart after I specifically told her NOT to go near the robot. It's a wrong I intend to make right, and if so, then she and Evan will be in my arms again. I will begin this with Funtime Foxy and Freddy, Ballora, and finally, Baby herself."

~o~

Charlie had to pause here for a moment so they could have this discussion.

"Remnant...what the devil?" was all her father could manage, looking up at her in disbelief and wiping his brow with one hand. Everyone, including Kaleia, was thinking exactly the same thing: what the hell? This is crap straight out of sci-fi horror, except for one problem. Charlie Emily is right here in front of us, but not as herself.

William Afton had been illegally experimenting with this thing called "remnant" that he stated based on observation alone - at first - was a chemical essence he believed was the true human soul, notably if the living organism died suddenly and in agony. It should be brushed off, but -

"I was his first victim, the day Fredbear bit Evan," Charlie told them all somberly. "The puppet came out too late. You made it to keep me and the other kids safe, right, Daddy? Well, it reached me just as I died. I remember waking up like this, but it took me years to figure everything out, and where to find you after the diner was abandoned. I wanted you to see Uncle Will for the monster he was." She hissed. "I think that was what he really was after he returned from the jungle war, and losing his little boy brought the beast out."

Clara exhaled sharply. "Sweetie..." She looked up at the possessed marionette and then towards her son, her only living child, and saw him lower his eyes to the ground. Kaleia put a hand on her husband's shoulder and squeezed it; she knew he was thinking about it again.

Charlie continued. "And when Mikey was put away, there was Elizabeth. I know all of this because I found time at night to learn things. Things he'd only write down for himself, but I couldn't get anyone to help because they were either afraid of me, or William hid it away so good. He got away with everything else that came after me. He laid low for a while, but then the five kids a couple years after that...you know. He went after them right after the results of the Funtimes."

They weren't even prepared for the madness of William Afton which hadn't been the kind they would have imagined, and they certainly weren't prepared for who became part of the Funtime animatronics.

~o~

"I should have known Afton Robotics would be infiltrated. I had taken every extreme caution and outfitted the labs with the greatest of technology to identify employees by their names and numbers, but it seems that not only did I have a traitor amongst the ranks, but two spies who have paid dearly for their treachery.

"I have built this facility deep underground with only a few technicians at hand, for obvious reasons. Reasons they cannot know, yet have the nerve to complain like children over the cameras they are unaware have recordings of their conversations and interactions, too. They expect better treatment when they have themselves a respectable position in the establishment for families and children. They complain of 'slaving away', the 'dirt poor payment', and of course not meeting policy standards. Do what you are asked, or else. Nothing more, nothing less.

"However, I have kept my eyes on the three of them up until the day they broke into this lab under the cover of night."

~o~

Kaleia gasped and managed to speak through her murderous heartbeat and crushing esophagus. "N-No...oh, God, was it...?" She fell forward even as the visions held her in place, as though she were physically a part of the program, except the characters were unaware of her presence.

~o~

"Subject: Ballora.

"Original Identity: Ilene Lyons.

"One of the infiltrators. I'd created the ballerina in the image of my former wife, the love of my life before she abandoned me. I wish I could have shown her, this image of devotion for her as Circus Baby had been for our Lizzie. But the past is the past. I am about to inject the quantity of remnant at twenty-four percent.

"Ballora has awoken, and I record the conversation as listed:

"Myself: Hello, do you know your name?

"Ballora: William Afton.

"Myself: I'm pleased and surprised. Do you recall anything before now?

"Ballora: I do, you murdering bastard.

"Myself: Now, no need for such vulgar talk. But I'll let it pass for now. So, what are you aware of?

"Ballora: My life before this, and my name...and the family you've taken me and my husband from.

"Myself: A necessary sacrifice. If this experiment progresses, then your family will understand the miracle.

"Ballora: This isn't a miracle, you psychopath. I was a human being, my family will never see me again, and you can't comprehend that kind of pain -

"I have to shut her down. She wouldn't understand that her actions brought this fate on her and the other two, one of whom was her husband. But no matter. I won't let her words affect me...too much. Onto the next subject."

~o~

His wife was on the verge of collapsing. She broke out into hoarse sobs. "Mom..."

"If I ever see that waste of oxygen again, I swear I'll cut his throat," Clara declared, fingers closing into fists so that you could see the white of her knuckles.

"...you haven't seen everything yet," Charlie said gravely. "Next..."

~o~

"Subject: Funtime Freddy (sans Bonbon the hand puppet).

"Original Identity: Benjamin Gumb.

"Let this be a (secret) lesson to those who betray. I've decided to give him a slightly smaller amount due to the verbal altercation with Ballora AKA Mrs. Ilene Lyons. He's the one who initiated the mission for the couple, a nobody who dropped out of college with no family or friends to miss him...he was a perfect candidate who happened to drop out of the sky, so to speak. Granted, he wasn't meant to be so, and neither was the Lyons', but it had to be done for the sake of the company and the experiments. Apparently, he thought he could be a hero and destroy us from within, lacking the stuff for it. Anyway, here it goes...

"Myself: Do you know your name?

"Funtime Freddy: I...don't know. I'm...Freddy, I think. It's all I know.

"Myself: Oh, well, that's a shame. How exactly do you feel?

"Funtime Freddy: Nothing. Just...jittery. Like I belong here, but something says I don't.

"Myself: Consider this a gift, my friend. You were brought to life for a purpose.

"Funtime Freddy: How weird. I shouldn't trust someone I just met.

"Myself: Well, you don't have a choice in the matter, do you?

"Experiment a success. Well, success being slight because he doesn't recall his previous life, and perhaps in this case, it's for the best."

~o~

"That poor boy." Henry shook his head in dismay. "This is terrible. I should have seen William for what he was then, but he fooled all of us."

~o~

"Subject: Funtime Foxy.

"Original Identity: James Lyons.

"Now I give Ilene's husband the chance to live again - in Funtime Foxy. I found myself torn, irritatingly so, between giving him a minute quantity versus his wife's. But beggars cannot be choosers.

"Myself: Are you Foxy, or do you go by another name?

"Funtime Foxy: Another...nother...name?

"Myself: You know - James, William, or another?

"Funtime Foxy: No.

"Myself: Oh, what a pity. But what can you tell me?

"Funtime Foxy: I was...someone else? Nothing but black there. I feel like I'm not really there, even though I am.

"Foxy doesn't even have the slightest clue about his old self but knows he could have been someone else before now. There's no telling if that memory will ever resurface in the future, so I will continue monitoring."

~o~

"I WANT TO KILL THAT MOTHERFU -!"

"KALEIA!"

She saw red after learning about her parents' fates.

Mom and Dad, they were murdered, their souls trapped in two of those things; Mom remembers but Dad doesn't, and that guy who helped them was...he risked everything to help them and others! What if they're still at Afton Robotics, wherever that is?

Through the bloody haze, Michael's voice was in her ears, his arms around her as he supported her before she could leap or fall off her seat in the rage: "Darling, please! We'll get him, but you can't just -"

"You can't just go off the rails even though we all know how you feel," Henry added urgently. "William will have no trouble cutting your throat or worse."

Clara spoke to Charlie, which Kaleia saw after blinking, taking deep breaths, and swallowing her sobs to calm down. Vision back to normal but the pain swelling within her heart, she saw her mother-in-law pleadingly gaze at the sympathetic puppet. "My baby...what about Elizabeth?" she croaked.

~o~

"Subject: Circus Baby.

"Original Identity: Elizabeth Afton.

"The star herself I purposefully and personally saved for last because I had to ensure my precious daughter returned to me. Now that I know enough of the quantities to insert into the animatronic, I will waste no time blathering. Elizabeth needs her daddy.

"Myself: Hello. Do you know my name?

"Circus Baby: ...

"Myself: Hello?

"Circus Baby: ...who...?

"Myself: I'm William.

"Circus Baby: Dad...y?

"Myself: Elizabeth?! Oh, God, Elizabeth, my darling daughter! It's you!

"Circus Baby: Daddy, what happened? Circus Baby - she got me. You told me not to go see her, but I didn't listen. I'm sorry..."

"Myself: It - it's okay, sweetheart. Everything will be all right soon. You're back with me now. But...there's the matter of bringing you into the world again. I saved you, but you're not in your old body. I've done things the world would hate me for, but it was all for you and your brother. I'm trying to bring him back the same way, except it's gonna take time and a lot more resources -"

"Circus Baby: You mean...lives, Daddy?

"Myself: I...

"Circus Baby: I want to be with you again. And with Mikey once he comes home. When will he be home?

"Myself: Not for a while longer, princess.

"I confess I don't have the will to write additional notes. I must postpone it for the time being."

~o~

There was so much blood that couldn't be measured on William Afton's hands. Of innocent children and adults who suspected the truth and tried to uncover it only to be silenced...literally.

The Funtimes were created to capture children because they were small enough to be concealed within those damned storage tanks - notably in Freddy and Circus Baby. Foxy could mimic voices and masterfully lure you into a false sense of security, making the children easier to fall for the noises; he could also lead possible witnesses away from the crime. So could Ballora herself.

It was damned easier if victims were alone.

The madman himself was so detached he either didn't care or was unaware of the damage he'd caused families' lives, and the calling out from one of his victims wasn't enough.

William Afton was a rabid animal that everyone in this living room knew needed to be put down. No one knew this better than...

"The police failed everyone. I don't hate them, but it's true. That means only WE can stop William from anything further."