Partner In Crime, I Suppose || William Afton

22

William and I returned to the diner the next day. Henry was running around the diner frantically, tearing the place apart.

"Henry, what's going on?" William asked.

"I can't find Charlie! She's been missing since last night!" Henry cried, looking under every table.

"Oh dear, when was the last time you saw her?"

"I don't know. Maybe right before the party. She was running around with Sammy. Then all the customers flooded in and I lost track of her. What do I do, William!!" Henry panicked.

"Erm. I don't know? Retrace your steps? Maybe she's hiding somewhere. Where would she usually hide?" William didn't know how to help Henry. But to be honest, he didn't want to help him.

"Maybe she's hiding in the backstage area? Or maybe out back by the trash bins?"

"Why would she be out by the trash bins?" I ask.

"I- I don't know, it's the only place I haven't looked."

Henry made a beeline for the back exit, convinced she must be back there. I mean, she was. But he wouldn't be pleased with finding her.

I followed Henry as the threw the backdoor open.

"Charlotte?? Charlotte?!" Henry called for his daughter as he walked around the back of the diner.

We came across a black lump on the ground. It didn't look like a trash bag, just some unidentified black pile on the asphalt.

The black mound was right where I'd seen Charlie lie lifeless. But that mound wasn't a little girl, so what the hell was it?

Henry walked over to the bundle on the floor, lifting it up to see what it was.

"The puppet... Why is the security puppet outside?" Henry asked aloud.

Wait, where's Charlie's body?

The puppet seemed to twitch and move as Henry brought it back inside.

He brought it to parts and services to repair it. The rain had really beaten and battered it.

"Alright, Henry. I'm gonna go see what William's up to. You good in here?" I ask, leaving the room.

Henry gives me a thumbs up.

I walk into the staff hallway, past the door marked 'Emily' and to the door marked 'Afton' which is cracked open.

"Alright, farewell, goodbye. I'm sure they miss you or something. I doubt they remember you." I hear William say through the door.

Knock knock.

"William?"

"Come in."

I walk through the door seeing no one. "Who were you talking to?"

"Clara."

"Clara?! But she's-"

"Dead, yes. But her spirit or soul or whatever was here. Apparently it was possessing that Fredbear plush."

"What? Clara was in the plush?"

"Yeah. She said when she died, her soul went into the plush and she's been watching over the family as the stuffed bear or whatever."

"Is that why Evan loved the plush so much?"

"Maybe. But that's probably why he'd talk to it."

"Did she say what that goo was? Does she know what it is?" I ask.

"She said it's called remnant.."

"Remnant? What?"

"Soul juice? Erm. Spirit energy? When the Fredbear plush was being burned, her spirit was also burned. The spirit melted into the goo."

"So if she was in the bear, how was she here? The bear burned." I could hardly wrap my head around what he'd just said.

"When her vessel was burned, it released the remnant and when the remnant was burned, her soul was released from the bear. So she came here and told me about it."

"So.. This soul juice, remnant, can heal flesh and bone. How do we get more of it?" I asked.

"I don't know, but it has something to do with death. Charlie's dead, we can use her."

"Yeah, mini problem with that. Charlie's not back there anymore."

"Wait. What?" William stood from his chair, placing his hands on the desk.

"I followed Henry to the back of the diner and all we found was the puppet thing."

"This is great! She won't be found then!" He cheered.

"Yeah, but where'd it go?"

"I don't know, I didn't touch it."

"Uh. Well, Henry's repairing the puppet right now. Maybe it'll like track her down or something?"

"Ooh where is it? I have a theory about it." William mused.

"Oh? What is it?"

"What if Charlie's soul did the same thing Clara's did?"

"You think Charlie's soul is in the puppet?"

William nodded. "Let's go find out."