

Charlie sat on the couch, anxiously fidgeting with her fingers. It had been about two days since she's last seen Francis, and there was no trace of him. He didn't run away, as all his possessions were still in their house. There wasn't any obvious signs of a struggle, as all the nearby streets and sidewalks had no traces of blood. Of course, that doesn't imply there wasn't one, it just means that whatever happened happened quickly. Michael returned to the force to help look for any clues, to the surprise of everyone. He had been so secluded these past years, it was almost uncharacteristic of him. Bianca suggested he felt bad, which he likely did. The argument the group had was what made Francis leave Daniel and Bianca's. If he hadn't, he would likely still be here. Sighing, Charlie lied down, and tried to fall asleep. She'd been awake since the night Francis disappeared. If she wanted to continue to help look for him, she had to get some rest, Michael's orders. She squeezed her eyes shut, but couldn't fall asleep, too much was on her mind. Michael's depression, Clay's murder, Mike and Francis' disappearance, William, and...that night. The anniversary of William's death, and their near death experience. She looked at her phone to check the date, June 21. Four days until the anniversary. Knowing it had been nearly 32 years since filled Charlie with a sense of feeling old. So much had happened since that summer day back in 1985. And yet, in some strange way, it felt like yesterday. "Does the date have anything to do with Francis disappearing?" she thought to herself. "Or is it...a really, really bad coincidence?" Before she could think more about it, she heard something tap at her window. It wasn't a quiet tap either, but a loud, rather forceful tap. Quickly, Charlie sat up and looked at her window, trying to process if she actually heard it or not. After a few moments, she got up from her position, and opened her front door. "Hello?" she called out. Nobody came. Instead, there was only the dark street, with a few lampposts lighting the sidewalks, along with a few houses with residents who were still awake. She sighed, and began to turn around, until something caught her eye. On the left corner of her patio, there was a yellow rabbit plush, sitting upright, staring at her. The plush was pretty much a yellow version of Bonnie, save for a purple bow and green eyes. "Spring Bonnie?" she asked herself, picking the plush up. "But who...?"

Down the street she could see a tall, skinny figure, shrouded in darkness. Charlie leaned her head to the side, trying to process who it could be. "Uh, hello?" she called. "Is this yours?" The figure waved back. Oddly enough, it seemed as though the figure was wearing a rubber-like costume, as there was a light reflection off of their hand. Now suspicious, Charlie took a step back. "I'm warning you...don't do anything stupid..." she said. The figure took a few steps closer, revealing more of their form. Whoever it was was definitely wearing some sort of costume that seemed rabbit-like. There were long, thin ears coming from the head, and a wide smile that had two buck teeth. The costume had a purple vest with stars and a purple bow tie, similar to the Spring Bonnie plush. "No...no not this..." Charlie uttered as she took another step back, making herself trip. Taking the opportunity, the figure bolted towards Charlie at an inhumane speed. Before she could even let out a scream, she found her mouth was covered by the deep yellow, rubber hand the figure was wearing. She stared him in the eyes, realizing this costume, as she thought, was a Spring Bonnie suit, but this time...it was different. It wasn't hard and fuzzy like William's, but instead soft and smooth. The figure took his other hand, held up his pointer figure, placing it in front of the costume mouth, hushing Charlie. He then slammed her head to the concrete with a sickening crack. Charlie lied on the ground, unconscious. "Is she dead?" Ben asked. "No," Mike sighed in a rather vile way. "She's just sleeping, just like Francis was." "She is bleeding, though," Alice added. "Which isn't what we wanted, dumbass," "Be quiet!" Mike hissed. "We don't need another lesson, now do we, Alice?" Alice didn't reply. Mike's grin grew wider. "Good, good," he hissed. "You're finally learning who's in charge here. Not you, not Michael, but me. Just as Father assigned." "Do you really think no one will notice the blood, Elizabeth? Or your brother's...very vast personality swings?" Alice asked.

"Oh, I want them to," Mike hissed. "It makes everything more fun!" Mike dragged his finger into the gash on Charlie's head, and began to write on her door. "She's gonna bleed out before we get to the pizzeria," Ann warned. "That's a lot of blood." "Nah," Mike hissed. "All we gotta do is inject some Remnant in her, and she'll live." "Just like you did with Francis? Elizabeth, you know with Remnant, the soul stays in whatever it's applied to! Doesn't your father want to, you know, bot them or something?" Mike ignored Ann, and injected a small amount of Remnant into the wound. "Not with a minimal amount," he finally said. "All it does is act as a disinfectant, and speeds up the body's natural healing process, kinda like steroids." He picked up Charlie's limp body, and looked back to the door. "You think they'll identify you from that?" Alice asked. "Unlikely," Mike said. "Besides, if they do...well..." Mike twitched for a moment, smiling evilly again. "We'll be sure to give them a fun time, now won't we?" he hissed. ~ "You have been observing for a while, Sammy," Chloe said. "Yea, I have...and I think what we've feared has come to pass," he replied. "Elizabeth has truly lost it, hasn't she?" "Yes." "Now what? She's definitely in control of Michael, so he has little he can do to help," "What about the others who remain? Daniel, Michael G, Bianca? Shouldn't we warm them?" Sammy thought to himself for a moment. "Sammy?" Chloe asked. "Michael fades in and out of control, have you noticed?" he asked. "Yea? And?" "You think if all five of them are there, he can regain control?" Chloe hesitated, "Maybe? It's a stretch, though..." "What other choice do we have?"

"So...what now? We wait?"

"Yeah....we wait. If needed, we can have Poppy and her crew...intervene...but for now...we wait and see what happens."