Larson couldn't believe his eyes. The Aftons? No way was this real. This had to be a dream. At least, he thought it was. He was standing right in front of them and they didn't seem to notice him. The family walked into their new home. Larson decided to follow them.

"Look, daddy, look!" The daughter cheered, running around the house with the younger brother. The older brother simply looked around. William wrapped his hand around his wife's waist and held her close.

"Home." William said with a proud smile on his face.

Larson blinked and found himself in what appeared to be a basement of some kind. However, by the looks of things, it seemed to have been converted into a workshop of some kind with boxes on the floor and shelves and a table in the middle. He saw William sat down in his chair, seemingly drawing something on his desk.

Curiosity got the better of Larson and he walked over to see what he was drawing. As he looked over William's shoulder, Larson noticed that he was drawing blueprints. As he looked closer, Larson saw that he was drawing the original blueprints for Fredbear and Spring Bonnie, the very first animatronics that William had ever made.

Hearing talking behind him, Larson turned to see that he was in a completely different place once again. This time, it looked like the inside of a restaurant. There were tables and games. There was a stage up ahead with Fredbear and Spring Bonnie on it.

"Fredbear's family diner?" Larson asked himself. Fredbear's was the first Fazbear restaurant, but what was he doing here? Focusing on the talking, Larson looked and saw William talking to another man. Larson immediately recognized him. It was Henry Emily, the other founder of Fazbear entertainment. They both seemed to be talking about a "grand opening" and how the animatronics were ready for performance. Meanwhile, William's wife was sitting next to a ball pit, watching her children playing with another child, a young girl. She looked familiar to Larson, but he couldn't quite place it.

He did a double take when he saw the ball pit. It looked like the exact same ball pit that Eleanor used to take Larson to... wherever he was. He then had an idea. If that thing brought him here, it could get him back out. He decided to keep that in mind, but he still needed to stay and find Tabitha.

A scream from behind him made Larson turn around. He began to feel wet. As he took in his surroundings, he realized he was outside in an alley and it was raining. The scream came from the same girl he saw earlier, the one who was playing with the Afton children. She was being shoved outside by three other kids. The girl desperately banged on the door, demanding to be let back inside.

Larson went to help her, but when he tried tapping her on the shoulder, his hand went right through her. He pulled his hand away and looked at her in disbelief. How drunk am I? Larson thought. Surely, this wasn't real. He had to be under the effects of alcohol. The sound of a car pulling up behind him made him turn, only to get blinded by the headlights that soon turned off.

When he rubbed his eyes, he saw a man step out of the car. The man appeared as though he was hiding something behind his back. He approached the girl with a friendly smile. Now that he was standing in the light, Larson saw that it was William Afton. He gently tapped the girl on the shoulder. She jumped and turned around, but seemed to calm down when she recognized who it was.

"Oh, it's just you, Mr. Afton." William chuckled.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you there. Are you alright? You shouldn't be standing outside in the rain. You'll catch a cold." He said, concerned.

"The other kids were mean to me. They pushed me out and locked the doors." The girl said with tears starting to form.

"You poor thing. Here, let me help you." William said. Larson drew his attention to the object that he was hiding. His eyes widened when he saw that he was holding a knife and was preparing to use it on the poor girl. Larson tried to punch him, but his hand still went right through him. He could only watch helplessly as the girl was brutally stabbed in the chest and dragged into the alley.

The rain suddenly stopped pouring, and he looked to see that he was in a very cluttered space. A storage room, no doubt. He saw endoskeleton parts strewn about. Blueprints littered the table, blueprints that Larson didn't care to look at. He then noticed a newspaper. He picked it up and read it. It talked about how six children went missing in Freddy Fazbear's pizza.

He then noticed another newspaper. The story on the front page was from 1983 and mentioned an incident with Evan Afton, the youngest son of William Afton. Larson grimaced as he read the rest of the paper. He saw another story that mentioned the grand opening of Circus Baby's pizza world being cancelled due to a gas leak.

There was also a missing poster that had Elizabeth Afton, the daughter of William Afton on it. Larson felt bad for these kids. They had to grow up with such a psychotic father. Larson then thought about the wife. Her life must've been dreadful, and that was putting it lightly. To be married to such a man... Larson wondered if they ever knew about the man's true nature. He had read reports about him being somewhat of an abusive father, but did they ever know he was a murderer?

A loud thud followed by shouting took Larson out of his thoughts and he automatically went outside of the room he was in to investigate the ruckus. He watched Michael, the oldest child, getting into a fist fight with William.
"Don't you understand?! I just wanted a father! A father that cared, that loved me!" Michael yelled as he tackled William to the ground. "If you wanted love so badly, then why did you kill your own brother?!" William countered, sending his knee directly into Michael's side, which gave him ample time to gain the upper hand against Michael.

"Don't you even go there! Look at yourself! You took so many children away from their parents! I know I'm a disgrace, but you... you're just plain disgusting!" Their brutal fight continued while Larson watched. He noticed that while they were wrestling around in the large, factory-like area, they strayed near a pipe on the wall. It looked like a gas line.

Michael slammed William into the pipe, causing a leak which neither of them seemed to notice. They only continued their fight. Coming from the upper floor was a strange sound unlike anything Larson had ever heard. It sounded akin to a deep, constant humming. He looked up and saw a glowing, bright light along with what looked like black tentacles. They looked exactly like the ones that dragged him into the ball pit.

He had to look away as the light got brighter and the noise got louder. He looked back at Michael and William who were still fighting. He saw William get the upper hand and start strangling Michael. As Michael gasped for air and tried to break free, William looked up at the light. Eventually, the light consumed Larson's vision and what sounded like a loud bang erupted from all around him.

Larson heard sirens in the distance. When he turned to investigate, he saw that he was standing outside. It was the middle of the night. He looked back at the factory, now burning to the ground after the fire had apparently spread throughout the factory. Over the sounds of crackling flames and parts of the building collapsing in on itself, the sound of screams was hard to ignore.

So this was how it happened... this was how the Aftons fell. Though, Larson still didn't get it. Why was he being shown all of this? Why him? A hand on his shoulder made him jump. He turned to see the woman that brought him here standing behind him. He soon adopted a face of rage.

"Where's Tabitha?! What have you done with her?!" The woman stood there silently, smiling viciously all the while.

"Do you hear me?! Where is Tabitha?! If you don't let her go right now, I'll-"

"YOU'LL WHAT? YOU'LL SHOOT ME? KILL ME? HERE I THOUGHT A DETECTIVE WOULD KNOW WHEN HIS GUN WAS MISSING."

Confused, Larson reached for his holster and felt nothing. He never bothered checking for a gun during his time here. He felt stupid for not checking. As he looked back up at the woman, he watched his gun materialize in her hand.

"ISN'T IT FASCINATING HOW SOMETHING SO SMALL CAN CAUSE SO MUCH DAMAGE TO HUMANS?"

She aimed the gun at Larson's head. He took a few steps back and raised his hands in the air in response.

"I STILL FIND IT FUNNY HOW YOU CHOSE THIS OVER YOUR OWN WIFE AND SON."

Larson's fists clenched. "Don't you dare talk about them! You can do whatever you want with me, but you stay away from them, or else you're a dead woman! You understand?!" The woman laughed.

"CALM YOURSELF. I'M NOT INTERESTED IN THEM. I FIND YOU MUCH MORE FASCINATING."

"Why?" Larson asked.

"YOU WERE DETERMINED TO DO YOUR JOB, AND YOU STOPPED AT NOTHING TO PUT THE PIECES TOGETHER AND SOLVE THE MYSTERIES OF THE LEGENDARY STITCHWRAITH."

She took on a more theatrical demeanor as she explained this. As she mentioned the Stitchwraith, Larson couldn't help but asking her about that. He knew that she had something to do with it, but what that was remained a mystery.

"How are you connected to the Stitchwraith? What do you know about it?"

"I KNOW EVERYTHING. THE STITCHWRAITH IS NOT EVEN THE LARGEST PIECE OF THIS PUZZLE."

Larson raised an eyebrow. "Not even the-... what is that supposed to mean? I want answers! Why is the Stitchwraith killing people? What does it want with the trash it's been taking? What do you have to do with all of this? Just tell me what's going on!"

"YOU WANT TO KNOW SO BADLY, DON'T YOU? YOU THINK KNOWING THE TRUTH WILL FIX YOUR LIFE? MEND THAT VOID IN YOUR SOUL? I AM NO EXPERT WHEN IT COMES TO RELATIONSHIPS, BUT YOU WILL NEVER GET YOUR FAMILY BACK, NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU TRY. AS LONG AS YOU CONTINUE TO PURSUE YOUR NEED TO SOLVE THIS CASE, YOU WILL HAVE NOTHING. TIME AND TIME AGAIN, YOU'VE HAD A CHOICE TO GIVE UP THIS FRUITLESS CRUSADE AND MOVE ON WITH YOUR LIFE, OR CONTINUE DOWN THIS PATH AND DIE LIKE A DOG. YOU CONSTANTLY CHOSE THE LATTER OPTION. AFTER ALL OF THAT SULKING AROUND, I WOULD'VE EXPECTED YOU TO TAKE ACTION AND TRY TO REFORM A BOND WITH YOUR FAMILY. YOU REALLY ARE HOPELESS."

Larson shook his head, trying to blot out the dark thoughts intruding in his mind. "Just... stop. I won't let... I won't let you hurt them."

"LIKE I SAID. I DON'T WANT TO KILL THEM. I JUST WANT YOU TO LEARN, TO GET THE ANSWERS YOU'VE BEEN LONGING FOR. THE STITCHWRAITH, THE DISAPPEARANCES, THE BODIES, ALL OF IT CAN BE ANSWERED IF YOU JUST DO ONE SIMPLE THING."

Larson looked up at the woman with a pleading expression. "I don't want answers. I just... I just want to get Tabitha and go home. Please... just let us go." The woman laughed at his pleading.

"OH, POOR EVERETTE, I CAN'T LET YOU LEAVE JUST YET. I STILL WANT YOU TO WATCH."

Eleanor grabbed him by the neck and slammed him into the ground. Larson gasped as his vision faded away.

END OF CHAPTER XXIV