Chapter 11: Heavy Dirty Soul

Foxy adjusted the cloth he had wrapped around his waist, making sure his scabbard was secured. Now that he had his first ever fight, the nerves that came right before a match started had all but vanished.

Funny how just having a single prior experience with something can make you that much more confident.

Idling around, waiting for the fight to begin was still a bit awkward though. Mikhail was up in the stands calling out team names and hyping up the crowd, saying something else about Foxy's legendary mechanics and quickly-rising ranking, but he wasn't really listening.

The crowd sure seemed to be, though. The second he walked out from the gates they went nuts.

He seemed to be getting popular around here, rather quickly too. Foxy had to make a conscious effort not to wave back to the crowd, break into character, and soak in all the attention. This wasn't the cove, these weren't the good old days.

But, for just a moment, it almost felt like they were.

His uncovered eye scanned over the crowd, taking in all the different people before his attention got snagged on a single group. His eyes settled on a vixen with blood red fur, staring right back at him with a gaze that felt like it could turn him to ice.

Scarlet.

'You again.'

He'd feel flattered by her continued eye contact with him, if it wasn't so clearly the stare of someone trying to figure out the most efficient way to kill a man. She watched his every move even before the fight; studying him. Analyzing him to pick him apart in the most effective ways possible.

What finally brought Foxy back to attention was the sound of the gate across the arena opening.

Foxy hadn't had the slightest idea who he'd be fighting this match, but as his opponents walked out into the well-lit arena, he suddenly wished he had done any amount of research beforehand.

It wasn't a team of three thankfully, but holy crap they were huge. Both of them definitely taller than Argos, they must've been the biggest people he'd seen here at all. Well, aside from Liz, but he never got a very close look at her.

One of them looked like some kind of hippo with one hell of an underbite. The other was a rhino… with a pathetically tiny gold-capped horn. It was like a nub, not pointy in the slightest.

Foxy had to hold back from laughing out loud, he didn't need to make this guy any angrier. As dumb as he looked, he was huge, and that put Foxy at a serious disadvantage.

They both were using sets of large metal bracers that extended over the top of their hands as a sort of pseudo-brass-knuckles. The very ends of the bracers were flat, with bolts and nails haphazardly protruding outwards. What bothered Foxy the most about them though was how they seemed to be made of the crudely reworked remains of other robotic arms. Multiple different ones at that.

Yeah, it's definitely gonna hurt if he gets hit by those.

Mikhail's chatter was drawing to a close. Foxy drew his sword from his scabbard, gripping the handle tight as he prepared for the fight to begin.

"We begin on your command, Ringleader…"

The golden hare was sitting upright, unusually interested in the match. Foxy remembered seeing him during the Devil's round, sitting back and barely even moving his head. Here and now, the big-eared bastard was staring him down, intently.

"It's been a long time coming," the rabbit muttered.

Spring Bonnie gave Mikhail the signal, and with one shout, the match began.

The two of them began charging immediately. Foxy fought his urge to tense up, he had to keep loose. He kept his stance light, gently bouncing on his feet as they closed in. And as they were right in front of him, the hippo made his move, sending his fist careening toward his face.

Foxy dashed to the side, cleanly avoiding the fist that whizzed by him, kicking up a cloud of sand from the sudden movement.

His legs didn't scream at him for just standing, they didn't threaten to break with every step. They were light, responsive, and strong. Just like they used to be.

Foxy was fast again.

The rhino lunged at him, bringing his fist down on the vulpine.

Foxy had barely even landed from his first dash, yet with another kick against the ground, he launched himself backwards and out of harm's way.

The rhino's fist collided with the ground, launching up yet another cloud of dust and sand, obscuring the vulpine from his vision.

Bad move.

Foxy quickly got his footing, and dashed right back in, sword drawn. The rhino didn't have a chance to see him coming through the sand, only catching a glimpse of him at the last second. He quickly stood up to try and block him, only to watch the vulpine kick off the ground. Foxy leaped into the air a good four or five feet, grabbing onto the rhino's shoulder and hooking around him. He grabbed at his neck, holding himself onto the rhino's back as the brute flailed, trying to throw him off.

It didn't work.

Foxy hung on tightly, and plunged his blade right into the rhino's neck repeatedly, going all the way down into his chest over and over. He stirred the blade around inside for good measure, cutting up his internals and severing god knows how many wires. With each stab the rhino lost more and more of his motor functions until the beast stopped entirely, collapsing into the ground with a puff of sand.

There wasn't a second to relax though, as the other of the two opponents was already closing in, arm pulled back and ready to launch.

Foxy ducked, avoiding the fist as it whizzed over his head. He tried to slide off the body of his defeated opponent and get some distance. Before he even started moving, the hippo had already followed up with a second blow, landing square in the middle of Foxy's chest.

He was shot back, tumbling over in the sand before scrambling back to his feet, wheezing the entire time. His chest felt like it almost caved in from that hit. Sure enough, the gash across his chest was bigger now, a few bolts and washers falling out of it.

That probably wasn't good.

The hippo was charging towards him now, Foxy reached for his sword and-

…Where was his sword?

Foxy's eyes flitted over to the rhino's dead body to confirm his suspicions, his sword was still lodged in the rhino's neck.

That definitely wasn't good.

The hippo was on him now, barraging the vulpine with punch after punch. He narrowly dodged each blow while attempting to cut their arms up with his hook. If he could just get out of this and make a run for the body, he'd be in much better shape.

The issue was getting a chance to run for it; this guy just would not let up.

The hippo heaved both his arms up, clearly intending to slam them down on the vulpine and pin him.

Just the opening he needed.

Foxy dived to the side, rolling out of the way as their fists slammed down on the ground beside him. Before they even began lifting their hands again, the vulpine had already bolted.

He sprinted towards his sword, sliding around the dead body and planting himself right by its head as he grabbed the handle of his sword and pulled on it as hard as he could. The hippo was barreling towards him, getting too close for comfort.

The blade was lodged in there tight, but with a few tugs he was able to pull it loose. The very instant he felt the blade withdraw, the bottom-jawed bastard was right on top of him. Foxy did the first thing that came to his mind, and threw the sword at him. It landed in the hippo's neck, puncturing and slicing its way inside.

But not deep enough.

In an instant Foxy felt himself pinned to the ground, his own neck being squeezed between their hand and the sand beneath him. The pressure was getting too tight too quickly- Foxy clawed at the hand, trying to pry it open. The hippo leaned in, pressing all his weight on the vulpine.

Foxy felt his body being crushed, again. He eyed the sword still lodged in the hippo's neck. That was his last chance there. He kicked at the hippo, slamming against his chest over and over, hoping to reach just a little higher.

The hippo leaned in, pressing more and more of his weight down on the vulpine… but closing the distance at the same time.

With one well-aimed kick, Foxy slammed his foot against the handle of the blade. The hippo screamed out, staggering backwards as they reached for the sword, but Foxy didn't give them the chance.

Yelling out, the vulpine launched himself off the floor, flicked his wrist, and latched onto the hippo's body with his hook. He grabbed the handle of the sword and plunged it deeper.

The hippo screamed even louder, Foxy responded in kind.

He pushed the sword upwards, stressing the hippo's framework like a crowbar.

After three very long seconds, their body gave way. Through the severed wires, metal, and all, Foxy's blade lurched upwards as the hippo's head was messily ripped from its body, drowning in a sea of coolant and oil.

As their body went limp and collapsed, Foxy hopped off, landing on his feet in the sand. His chest ached, both from the injuries and the yelling.

The crowd seemed to take up the mantle of making as much noise as possible, all yelling and cheering. Some booing, probably due to lost bets.

But of course, as Foxy shook off the oil and his two mechanics came running out to help him with his newly opened chest, Scarlet just stared at him.

Watching.

"So, I guess we're paying Argos another visit tonight then?" Penny said, nudging the vixen.

"...Yeah, I guess that was the agreement after all."

"It doesn't need to be much," Liz mentioned, "We'll be losing a match soon though, we just need enough for repairs."

"Wasn't that always the idea?"

"It just feels… different, now that they have to do their own repairs."

"Yeah, well, it's the Hellmouth. Things always find a way to get more difficult down here."

"Exactly what part of 'don't be reckless' isn't getting across to you?" Horton said, moving the old scrap off the table.

The vulpine just groaned, adjusting the wrapping around his chest that was keeping all his internals in place as he got up on the table.

"Right, sorry matey, next time I'll just choose not to get me chest caved in."

"Is the sarcasm really necessary?"

"Well, ye keep acting like I'm getting hit on purpose!" Foxy snapped back. He was getting more aggravated now, gesturing with his arms. He felt something inside him slip out of place, and quickly went back to holding his torso.

"It really seems like you are sometimes!"

"Well, I'm not!"

The two of them sighed.

"...Look," Foxy started, "I'm doin' my best not to get hit out there, but it's a fight to the death. They're gonna get some hits in whether I like it or not."

Horton held his breath for a moment as he placed his bucket of tools onto the table.

"I know. I'm sorry for being hard on you," he said as he began unwrapping Foxy's chest and began tooling away at his insides. "...I suppose I'm just frustrated I can't help you on the field."

Foxy shifted in place as he felt one of the tools against his 'spine.'

"Horton, you help plenty. I wouldn't be alive right now without ye."

The owl held his breath as he tightened the vulpine's insides back into place.

"Yes, I'm aware of that, but… you're still dying. I could do more if I just had the parts- it's like every day we're losing time. Maybe if I didn't use up all the savings I had from back when Marty did this I could have been prepared to help you."

"How in th' blazes were you supposed to know that ye needed to be prepared for a mangy dying fox showing up on yer doorstep? I came outta nowhere."

"Yes but-"

"No buts. You're doing enough Horton, chill yer feathers."

"Alright alright…" Horton said, his thinned-out voice trailing off and muttering something to himself before he got back to work.

Foxy was left with a weird feeling. What the hell just happened?

"Is… is that all it takes?"

Horton glanced at him, "mind clarifying that for me?"

"I mean, is that it? Argument over?"

Horton chuckled, "Well, yes. Wasn't much of an 'argument' to begin with. Some emotional maturity and a little humility is all it takes, Foxy. I was being a little hard on you, I realized that, and I apologized. Nothing more to it."

Foxy furrowed his brow a bit. Horton could tell he was clearly understanding it well enough, but something about it was strange to vulpine.

"...I take it you're not familiar with interactions like this," Horton said, sounding a little sorry.

"I guess not, I don't know."

"I think you know just fine, you just don't want to talk about it."

Foxy winced, "...Aye."

"That's okay. You don't need to tell me anything you're not ready to talk about."

Horton held his breath for just a moment before continuing.

"Forgiveness can be… difficult. I know that much," He continued, running a hand over his feathers and his eyes over the miscellaneous trinkets, drawings, and other bits lying around the room. "But being forgiven is even harder. So being able to forgive someone, even a little… It goes a long way, for everyone. Just remember that. It'll make the lives of those around you, and your life, a lot easier."

Foxy eyed the owl, both empathizing with him, and trying to figure him out.

"Sounds like you speak from experience."

"...I've had a lot of time to think, that's all."

The two of them were quiet after that, aside from Horton's occasional instruction as he repaired Foxy's chest. It didn't feel as awkward as he thought it would, the repairs had become routine now in an almost comfortable way.

"That should be it, I think…" Horton said, tossing the last of his tools back in his bucket.

"That was faster than last time," Foxy remarked, sounding a bit appreciative.

"I'm getting back into the swing of things, I'd say."

Before he could respond, Foxy flinched. Just beyond his vision, outside the window, something moved.

"Hey, Horton? Where's Argos?"

"Oh, I gave him your newest winnings, he's just melting down the larger bits of scrap…" he trailed off, "Actually, now that you mention it, I don't think I ever heard his equipment start up."

Foxy had a sinking feeling in his gut. Something was happening.

As if to confirm his suspicion, there was a rustling noise outside the shop. His ear swivelled towards the window. Horton watched as Foxy got up and silently moved toward the window on the far side of the room, taking slower steps as he drew closer to it, careful not to make any sudden movements.

Glancing down from the window revealed a grey hawk climbing out of the living room window carrying an awfully familiar bag of scrap, and two others standing watch as they glanced around.

…A blue lizard and a dark red vixen.

The Devils.

"Foxy what is it?" Horton loudly whispered from across the room.

Foxy turned to Horton, silently gesturing for him to stay quiet. He unclasped the locks on the window, slowly opening it while trying to be as quiet as possible.

Creeeeeak!

Apparently, the hinges hadn't been oiled in a while. The three figures immediately looked up, all locking eyes with Foxy.

Well, subtlety was out the window, but so was the fox.

The Devils bolted as he landed on the ground, kicking up dust as he sprinted after them. Foxy took a second leap of faith after the hawk carrying the scrap bag, sailing a good several feet through the air before he plowed into Penny and sent them both into the dirt.

She was far more limber than he expected, already getting up and trying to slide out from his grip. He pulled her back, tucking her wing under his arm and grabbing her other hand, the one carrying the scrap.

Before he could reach any further, he felt a cold blade against the back of his neck.

"Liz!"

To Foxy's surprise, Argos bolted out from the front door, stopping just before the clustered group of everyone in a standoff.

"What the hell's goin' on!?"

"They're stealing our scrap!" Foxy shouted, squeezing Penny's hand.

"Let. Go."

Foxy felt Liz's axe press in against his neck as his hackles raised.

"Why don't you stay outta my winnings," Foxy spat.

The lizard pressed her axe further in, eliciting a low growl.

"Let him go, Liz!" Argos barked, beginning to step forward as he realized what was going on.

The taller lizard's response made him stop in his tracks.

"This wasn't our agreement, Argos."

"Your what!?" Foxy hollered, before he was immediately reminded of the cold steel about to slice his neck open.

Argos winced, "Foxy, I-"

"You better get to explainin', now."

All eyes were on Argos as the deafening silence overtook the ever-thickening tension.

"I've… had a deal going with them for a while. Every time I- we get some scrap, I give them a small chunk of it. For repairs."

'So they did lose matches on purpose then.'

"What, so you can stack 'em against me!?"

"So we can survive!" Scarlet flared.

Foxy's glare snapped to the vixen at the front of the group, who stood frozen as she finally cut in.

"It's so we can survive," she repeated. "It's so we can live to see tomorrow."

"So I don't get to repair myself because you want to?"

"Big words for somebody who seems fine enough to jump from two floors up," Penny huffed.

That made Foxy snap.

"Fine!?"

The vulpine took advantage of the unintentional reduction in Liz' axe pressure against him to spin around below her, grabbing the axe and tossing it away. Liz was about to whack him with her hammer before Argos caught it and held her hand down.

Foxy clambered across the dusty ground before stumbling to his feet, drawing attention to the large gash in his chest with his finger.

"Fine!?"

The others cringed as he stuck his entire hand inside the gash on his chest, pulling out an entire handful of loose wires and metal bits.

"Does this look fine to you?!" Foxy reiterated, shouting loud enough that he probably could've been heard from the arena.

"Looks about the same as it does this," Penny retorted as she responded in kind. One by one, the devils all removed and replaced a broken part of their extremities.

It was in the deafening silence that Foxy held his tongue before he formulated a better response.

"That still doesn't explain why you taking my scrap is justifiable," the fox shot back. "Why couldn't you just go mooch off of somebody else, huh?"

His frustration grew when nobody responded.

"Why don't you just go steal from the big-ass scrapyard? I'm willing to bet my life that Spring Bonnie wouldn't have any use for it," Foxy mocked.

That last comment made Scarlet bare teeth and ball fists.

"We fucking tried that already," she ridiculed. "It's how Lana died!"

Foxy froze, his eyes locked onto hers.

She stared into his eyes far longer than she was comfortable with, but somewhere in that gaze she saw a glint of recognition.

The vixen's gaze narrowed as she closed in on him. That was certainly not the reaction she was expecting, but it gave her something to pick at.

"Why do you know her name," she hissed.

Foxy took a step back, a worried expression beginning to creep into his visage.

The Devils and Argos watched as Foxy bolted, covering the short distance back to the house in the span of a few seconds with the small scrap bag in tow.

Not satisfied with the answer, Scarlet turned to Argos, grabbing him by the collar.

"How. Does. He. Know?"

The lizard's brow knit defensively.

"I told him nothing," he said, recalling Foxy's emotional turmoil as the vulpine told of his encounter with the late fighter.

Scarlet's confusion only grew as the mechanic continued.

"He got to learn for himself, firsthand. Whether he liked it or not."

Before she could ask what he meant by 'firsthand,' Foxy had returned. The vixen and her sisters were even more bewildered now that the sack full of metal bits that he'd been carrying appeared far more full than it had been.

The vulpine tossed the scrap bag onto the ground in front of Penny.

His voice had lost all of its bravado from earlier, now taking on a much more hushed tone.

"I'm sorry."

With that, Foxy returned to his dwelling place, tail dragging behind him.

As Scarlet put two and two together, she let go of Argos' collar and took off after him. No amount of emotion-ridden screaming and banging on the door would change the outcome that fate had dealt her.

The door stayed shut.

A/N: Happy new year! Have a new chapter. As always, I appreciate every review, comment, or even just feedback at all in the discord server.

Howdy everyone, SpaceCat here.

We've been making good progress through this arc, roughly halfway to the end, give or take. We plan on writing a few more fight scenes, but also want some extra audience interaction. If you have an idea for any opponent for Foxy or The Devils, we'll be taking suggestions in the ideas and extras channel in our discord server. You are more than welcome to use an OC as your submission, but bear in mind that they're probably going to end up dead, and this is nothing personal.

The code to find our server is on both mine and CydonianHunter's profile pages, but I'll put it here if you don't feel like hunting it down.

discord . gg / 4vKHtqRpxH

I believe that should be it, so until next time, thank you all for reading.