(OLD) The events of the convention, Volume One

Chapter Eighteen - Liam

Liam couldn't believe how obvious it all was.

Everything was just so clear, he wondered why he hadn't realized it before.

Well, he knew why, and it was evident why he hadn't realized it before, but that was irrelevant.

When he got to the convention, the girls were nowhere to be seen. Veronica was sitting at a booth near the stage, fiddling with a remote-looking thing.

Where are the girls?

His voice came out more harshly than he'd intended, but it had the desired effect.

They're in the office. You said you wanted to talk, I assumed you didn't want to be bothered.

They can listen. This applies to them as well.

Veronica shrugged. You can come in now.

Where are Foxy and Mangle?

They're busy.

Liam sighed. Alright then.

You know those moments in mystery novels or movies when the detective gets one piece of information that just fits the puzzle together?

Veronica looked confused. Yeah?

I solved it. I solved it, Veronica, or... Should I even call you that? It's not like it's your name.

The girls stared puzzlingly at him.

I'll get to that. First, I'm going to tell a little story. For clarity. Liam started pacing back and forth, gesturing with his hands as he spoke.

When I first met Veronica, she was nice. Very soft-spoken, pretty shy. She had something that scared her to death, and the fear followed her everywhere, but I never asked what it was. All I really knew was when I first met her, her hands were shaking, even though it was warm. I hadn't read the paper in its entirety that day, I only looked at the job flyers. If I had I would've known why.

See, Veronica's mother was in prison for killing her father. Only got a few years, but she got more than she would have if Veronica hadn't been a witness. She told the judge everything, and that got her in for a few more years. Point being, she would not have gotten much if Veronica hadn't said anything. Which brings me to the next thing.

Veronica was paranoid because the day I started work here, her mother's jail time was over. She got out that day. He pointed at Veronica. You. Your name isn't Veronica, it's Moira Afton. That was a good diversion, using the power outage on the third night to sneak in. Or was it you who cut the power? At any rate, it was a good enough diversion to sneak in, murder your daughter in cold blood, then hide the body somewhere you thought nobody would ever find it.

Sorry to disappoint you, but I did. When you lock a door and throw away the key, you really shouldn't just throw it in a corner. It's a little obvious.

She cursed.

But honestly, what shocked me the most was how you did it. It looked like all you did was knock her out and shove her in there. Maybe you thought she'd be fine.

Maybe you thought wrong.

Liam started shaking thinking about it.

I tried my best to clean it up, but the human body has a lot of blood in it, and I think you spilled every last drop of hers. But I'm still not answering something. How did I put this together? He pointed at Bonnie. Best I could tell, the suit looked like her, but golden. At least what I could see under all that red. I told them about a golden bunny suit before. One I remembered.

Turns out I was hiding the truth from myself.

I told them I closed my eyes, that I didn't see what she did to them. But I did. My mind was hiding it because if I'd known what had happened then, I would've lost my mind. He laughed. Maybe I have. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised.

The animetronics looked fully confused now. Veronica or Moira or whoever it was just looked angry. Liam continued his mantra.

My friends never left the diner. They were shoved in other suits, just like you did to veronica. Those were the new prototypes, the new faces of Freya's anime convention. But their spirits never left.

He let the words sink in.

You just let me watch them die. I bet you were going to go for me next, counting on me being paralyzed with fear. But I ran away. I left. When you burned my house to the ground, I bet you thought that was the end of it. Heh. Bet it was a kick in the face that I ended up here.

I can tell you're thinking there's holes in my story. Well then. He pulled the old, tattered book out of his pocket. Recognize this?

Moira gasped. You need to give me that.

Nope. I know why you need this, and I am NOT giving it to you.

It's MINE!

Wrong again. This was Veronica's. He opened it. She kept a journal. It made me sad to read it, really. Her life really was miserable. But the most important thing was in here. Liam cleared his throat. Today dad brought the prototypes home from the diner. Mom and him had a big fight about it. They do that all the time now.

I'm not sure if I just imagined it, but I'm sure there was something dripping from them.

He closed the book.

There was another thing in here. Something Veronica's father had left her. The manual for all the animetronics. How to work them, fix them, and how they were made. I'm sure you want this too.

Moira laughed. You know what this sounds like? This sounds like a poorly written mystery novel. Just get to the point.

Liam's eyes smoldered. You want the point? Fine. He pointed at her, his voice raising. Your name is Moira Afton. You murdered seven children, two that I couldn't even find out information about. You killed all of my childhood friends and forced their souls to suffer for years. You killed your husband in a fit of rage and your daughter because she found out. You tried to kill me TWICE, failing both times and killing my parents in the process. You have single-handedly ruined my life and the lives of so many others. The only thing I didn't understand was why you didn't kill me when you had the chance. Then it came to me.

You can't.

Puzzled stares greeted this.

I'll elaborate. Why didn't I die when the fire consumed me? Or when I was shot six times? It didn't make sense. But I think I get it.

I'm just a pawn, see. A last card the world's playing against you. And I can't leave until I've fulfilled my purpose.

Moira laughed mockingly. And what oh-so-special purpose is that?

To make you burn.

She looked taken aback for a second, then started clapping.

You're pretty good, I will admit it.

She started pulling off her face, which was apparently a mask. Another woman, an older one, was under it.

The girls were starstruck.

The woman continued. I am impressed. Yes, that's all correct. Such a good little detective. I'm surprised, honestly. You always seemed so anxious to forget the past, and yet here we are.

But now you know too much.

She pulled out a remote, and Chica and Freya walked over and pinned his arms to his sides.