Well here's your epilogue. The official end to the story.

To DinoGirlJ:

Well, your review didn't actually appear on the site, but I got an email containing it :). So uh, thanks a lot. Hope you'll keep reading my other content :D

I want to thank you guys all so much for the support; it's been incredible. I'm glad I can finally say this story is COMPLETE! I can finally set the status to–

Oh, who cares? Anyways, like I said in the previous chapter, the sequel is going to take time. Strangers But in Dreams has to be finished first. In the meantime, Let Me Breath will be my main priority after I have written Ch2 of Babylon, and completed the first arc of Tears That Scar (think of the TTS arcs as individual stories, guys. There'll be a break on that story after it's done). Afterwards, Strangers But in Dreams will continue, and then we'll have the sequel. It's a huge plan and I'm probably in over my head, but eh. It'll be alright in the end. It'll just take a shit ton of time.

Now, please enjoy the epilogue. Don't be mad at me. There will be fan games as part of the plot of the sequel.

Now, since is the last chapter…

Goodbye for reals! (And I'll hopefully see you next time!)

Epilogue

Charlie pulled her hair back as she leaned against the wall of her room, staring out the window. The sunset was casting warm glows into her room, as she smiled at Theodore. The rabbit sat in his wicker chair, not returning the smile as his head suddenly drooped down, attached by only one or two threads. Charlie shrugged nonchalantly, then returned her gaze to the window.

Somewhere downstairs an object cluttered to the floor, followed by Jessica shouting a long string of curses. Charlie allowed herself to laugh, as Stanley the unicorn finally came to a halt on his track, squeaking loudly.

"You need a new coat of paint, Stanley." She muttered, not even facing him. She'd said the same phrase at least three times in the past ten minutes, as she stared out the window. It had been only three weeks since Abaddon's attempt to murder her. The media had managed to capture most of the fight on video, which had quickly went viral over the next few weeks. Carlton had already called her just to make sure she was okay, before screaming at her over the phone about how she was insane. That was okay though; insane was good in times like these, when nothing seemed real.

"I wonder how many demons are out there." She thought aloud, tilting her head as she walked over to the sill, sliding the window open to allow a cool breeze to flow through her room. Charlie sighed, contented as she sat down on her bed, eyes on her bedroom door. Someone was thudding up the stairs; probably Jessica, considering it sounded as if she had just dropped something.

Her theory turned out to be correct, as her friend burst into her room, not bothering to knock. Her face was emotionless as she talked, eyes unmoving.

"William said he wanted to see you." She told her, before quickly heading back down the stairs. Charlie gave Theodore one last look before she followed Jessica down the stairs, eyeing the dark stain on the floor. She wondered why Abaddon had killed her father. Anger? Fun? Ethics? Considering that he seemed loyal to him, she couldn't figure out why.

Jessica opened the basement door, standing by as she gave Charlie a go-ahead-without-me look, along with a casual toss of her head. Charlie nodded, smiling at her before heading down the stairs. William was standing in the darkness of the basement, his purple rags now stained with both blood and oil. He was looking at a set of blueprints rolled out in of him, though from her position she couldn't tell what they were for. Upon hearing her walking down the stairs, the Purple Man raised his head, waving at her before dropping his arm.

"Come here." Charlie obeyed, trudging wordlessly down the concrete steps before making her way to his side. She frowned as she looked at the blueprints; they were of the Springtrap suit, except they looked ever so slightly different. The mechanisms in her legs looked slightly smaller for one thing, while the head had been altered to fit around her head better.

"What is this?" She asked him. Though he had no face, she could tell he would be grinning if he did.

"An upgraded version of the suit. I call it Dark Springtrap."

xXx

Max Donovan lifted up his head, groaning softly as he heard the doorbell ring. He looked down at his desk, realising that he'd fallen asleep while working. He'd been rereading the Freddy Files, reviewing the information with the possible connections to The Scourge and the Phantom Scourge. Though not much had turned up, he had discovered a few links concerning the Springtrap suit. It had been used at an earlier location called Fredbear's Family Diner; he hadn't heard of it before the previous night, likely due to it being located in New Harmony. The restaurant had closed years ago, but he'd found a couple of interesting related newspaper articles; something about the owner's child being kidnapped on Halloween. He'd had two kids, apparently. A girl and a boy. But the article hadn't actually specified which one of them had been kidnapped. If the kids were still alive, they'd be around 18. He would probably be able to find them; they'd be his first suspect regarding Springtrap's identity.

Shaking his head sleepily the man rose from his chair, yawning as he opened the door. His eyes opened in surprise when he saw a familiar face. It was Officer Dunn standing in his doorway, surprisingly in casual clothes.

"Max Donovan." He greeted. "It's been a while."

"Indeed it has, Officer." Max grunted in reply, standing back so Dunn could walk in. "What do you want, Dunn? You turn up here years after we last spoke; you think I'm gonna believe you wanted to have a shitty reunion?"

"I know you're smarter than that." Dunn snorted. "You're a paranormal investigator now, I hear. How's that going for you?" He gave the other man a smirk, waiting patiently for an answer.

"Like you give a shit." Max closed the door, leading Dunn to his table where the files still lay. The Officer eyed them for a moment, before taking a seat. Max took his usual spot, sipping his mug of cold coffee. "Now, what can I do for you?"

"I hear you've found another link between Freddy's and The Scourge." Dunn stated, prompting Max to give him a quick nod. "And while that's all well and good, I've found a more pressing matter. One which needs to be resolved quickly. We don't want more horror stories to take root in this city. Recent events, unseen by most, even The Scourge, have begun to stir up trouble." He took out three pictures from his pocket, tossing them onto the table. Three robotic anthropomorphic animals stared up at Dunn with lifeless eyes. The first was a blue and white cat, sporting a bright red tie and the pointed fangs. Its triangular ears were perked up, alert. The next was a brown rodent which Max could only liken to a weasel. A top hat similar to Freddy Fazbear's was perched on top of its head, while it gazed at the camera with a downward tilt almost aggressively, piercing green eyes almost appearing to be glowing. The third and final image was of a red bee, two short antennas poking out of its head at a slight angle, with a white chef's hat standing between them. The bee's eyes, unlike the other two animatronics', were dark and empty, completely devoid of life.

"You see," Dunn said as he motioned towards the animatronic animals, "Freddy's wasn't the only place with a dark history."

–To be continued in Stage 02: Shadows of the Deepscape–