Chapter 25: Regicide

"This feels right."

Foxy tossed the blade that Argos handed him around in his hands. He would have used his own for the final fight, but his weapon had been donated to the noble cause of being thrown at Spring Bonnie's booth. Scarlet had been kind enough to give him one of hers, which the resident machinist had to make some tweaks to in order to make it feel like the original door-forged special. Hiltless and everything.

"If it's one of mine, it damn well better."

Scarlet stood just off to the side of Argos' workstation, watching the lizard whack off bits and pieces of her sword. She knew it was for a good cause, but she still made him promise to reforge it into what it was originally once this was all over. As everybody gathered in the main room, the nerves quickly began to settle in. Foxy turned around and looked at everyone while taking a deep breath.

"Well," he started. "This is it."

"This is it," Scarlet repeated. "You've come too far to turn back now."

Foxy ran a hand over his head. "I've come a lot farther than I thought I would."

"Not many can say they've gone very far at all," Penny added as she left out the front door. "Not down here, at least."

Liz and Argos followed her, both wishing him luck as they headed off to the arena.

"Good luck, Foxy," Horton said. "I'm afraid there's not much else we can do now."

"Unfortunately so, but our best wishes are with you."

Foxy looked up the stairs to the source of the new voice, seeing Marty at the top of the steps, barely awake.

"I appreciate it, old man. What's next for you?"

"Probably heading back to bed, or somewhere. I'm not sure," the puppet replied. "I may be absent for a short while, just while I wait for things to calm down. If I show up immediately after this, who knows what kind of crazy conspiracies people will come up with. I hope you're not disappointed."

Foxy smiled. "You'll be the first that I welcome back, then."

As Marty went up the stairs, Foxy turned to Scarlet. "Well, shall we?"

She shook her head. "I'd love to go accompany you, but I have to stay here."

Foxy raised an eyebrow.

"I'm 'dead,' remember?"

The vulpine realized what she meant, before sighing. At least she wasn't dead for real. "And if you show up not dead," he grimaced.

"Then I'd be dead dead," Scarlet finished for him.

He nodded, turning to the open doorway. The possibility of never seeing her again was entirely present, and he wasn't sure how to put his emotions into words. "I know that I could very well not come back, so I…"

Foxy trailed off as he stared at the ground. The idea of losing Scarlet hurt. It was like a wound right through his core that had no openings, like a void in his own body.

"Yes?"

Scarlet moving closer to him made the storm of butterflies come rushing back. When he looked back at her, she held a gaze that made him want nothing more than to hold her like he did the night prior.

"I just want you to know that I'm glad I met you."

She briefly glanced down, brushing a few strands of hair away from her face. The fox in front of her was the spark that ended her daily monotony of scraping by to live until tomorrow. Maybe they didn't meet on the best of terms, but it had blossomed into something else entirely since then. His tenacity meant her home could finally be safe for herself and her sisters, and he was the only one crazy enough (bordering on stupid) to make it happen.

"I'm glad I met you too."

She pulled him in close for what she hoped wouldn't be the final time. Not knowing what else to do, Scarlet leaned in and planted a single chaste kiss on his cheek.

"You'll make it," she whispered in his ear. "I know you will."

Foxy could hear the booing and yelling coming from the arena from all the way back here. The crowd must've been real pissed about something, likely Spring Bonnie preemptively declaring himself the de facto victor due to Foxy not showing up yet.

That scumbag was in for the surprise of his life.

It wasn't much further now.

It seemed everyone had turned up for this fight. The first time they had even a sliver of hope that Spring Bonnie's reign would end since Marionette failed all those years ago. They couldn't even all fit in the Arena– the entire surrounding area was filled with onlookers, sitting on rooftops and bridges, anything that had a decent line of sight. They weren't looking inside, though. Foxy could feel their stares, all focused on him.

He didn't care.

Before he even got to the archway of the arena, Foxy had his sword drawn, gripping it so tightly that the edges of the handle were almost cutting into his palm.

He strode through the archway, the crowd sounding louder than ever before as he walked out from the black behind the open gates and into the area.

Roars filled the crowd, cheering him on.

The only thing he looked at was the rabbit bastard himself, propped up all high and mighty in his observational area in the seats above the arena. The golden hare's ear flicked as soon as his eyes landed on the vulpine. His brows furrowed as his mouth contorted into a displeased grimace.

He certainly wasn't happy to see Foxy still alive.

"What's the matter?!" The fox shouted, his voice rising above the roars of the crowd. "You look like you've seen a ghost!"

The rabbit scoffed. "You're late! I was just reminding all these good folk here about the rules of this arena! How tardiness is an automatic forfeit!"

The crowd roared with more booing.

"I know, I know, how disappointing… Don't blame me for this fox's inability to show up on time when it really matters!"

"Rules, huh!? Do I need to tell them about how you sent your goons to kill me off in my sleep!? How you did the same to Marionette all those years ago!?"

That got the crowd's attention. All eyes turned to Spring Bonnie, furious glares from every direction.

"I haven't the faintest clue what you're talking about you mangy runt," the rabbit seethed. "I suggest you be more careful what you say. Regardless! You failed to show up on time for our match, you failed."

"I recall the rules differently," Foxy said, his determination completely unfazed. "This fight's not over until one of us is dead, and I'm still standing."

Spring Bonnie's glare was filled with absolute hatred, his form subtly shifting and splitting as Foxy could only assume his ROCOM was beginning to change shape. He spoke in a low tone. "Are you so eager to die?"

Foxy pressed further. "If you're planning to keep sending your thugs after me like a coward, I promise you I'll kill every last one." His voice had no showmanship, no hesitation, and no room for lies. Only promises.

"If you want me dead, get down here and kill me yourself."

The rabbit shifted again, long splits beginning to show down his arms and face. He stepped to the ledge of his observation deck, grabbing the railing before heaving himself over it. He landed with enough weight to shake the ground, kicking up sand around him in clouds of dust as he stood up, more splits showing all over his body just like the thing Scarlet had fought.

His voice dripped with rage. "I hope the crowd is ready to hear your last words."

Foxy readied his sword. "Yours, not mine."

No announcer was there to declare the start of the fight. As the two of them began carefully pacing around the arena, it was clear enough that the fight to determine the position of ring-leader had begun.

Whatever happened, Foxy refused to make the first move. He needed to see the rabbit's ROCOM in action before he knew how to deal with him. The tingling sensation throughout Foxy's body was proof enough Marty's, no, his ROCOM was actively repairing him. But that was about all he could do.

If Spring Bonnie was able to create a monstrosity like what Scarlet had to face using his own ROCOM, then there was no reason for the hare to be any easier of a fight. Foxy adjusted his arms, keeping them raised. His opponent slowly moved in, drawing closer to the vulpine as his arms shifted. The plate metal of his forearms almost 'dissolved' back to reveal the steel framework underneath.

The golden rabbit dashed at him, much faster than he expected. Foxy readied himself to block the incoming attack with his blade, but as he saw what came next he became distracted.

Spring Bonnie's forearms, both unfolded. The metal around them dissolved as quickly as the hare had dashed towards him. It reformed around the framework just as quickly, replacing his arms with double-bladed metal appendages in the shape of a praying mantis.

Foxy swung his blade out to deflect the first arm, which he did so successfully. But the second arm came quickly, the vulpine only narrowly moving out of the way. It didn't connect, but the fur on his upper chest was a little shorter now. He jumped back, trying to gain some distance between him and the rabbit. Spring Bonnie allowed no such thing, immediately closing back in on him.

Foxy continued to block and dodge the arms, only getting a couple scrapes as his mind raced to figure out a counter. The only idea that came to mind was risky, but it'd be effective if it worked.

Spring Bonnie threw another arm at the fox, trying to overwhelm him enough to make him stumble. It was all he needed for a quick kill. Instead, however, Foxy leaned out of the blade's path, quickly reaching for the framework of the arm and catching it. Before his opponent had any time to react, Foxy plunged his blade into the joint of the arm. It went right in, but didn't completely break the joint– not until he pulled the blade down like a lever, twisting the mangled joint far enough to break.

The sound of screeching metal rang out, followed by the muted thud of the severed arm falling to the sand.

Only one arm left, and Spring Bonnie would have no way to fight back.

"You cocky little shit!" the hare's voice thundered, he didn't even stagger back from the injury.

Foxy was too overwhelmed to bother smirking or throwing out some witty taunt, but the pride he felt quickly vanished as he saw the ROCOM on Spring Bonnie's body sizzle back into action. The hare's remaining arm shifted as a long slit appeared longways across the entire limb. As quickly as the line appeared, the entire arm split into two elongated mantis arms, one blade at each end.

Foxy prepared for the attack that would come, and sure enough, the blades lunged at him. He dodged one and deflected the other, both landing in the sand blade first and getting stuck for what would only be a moment. The vulpine saw the opportunity to break another arm, but he never got the chance to act on it. It was like a mechanical bladed tendril protruding from his body. Foxy didn't have time to stare at the sudden shift in the hare's form, he had already pulled the bladed limbs out from the sand and lunged towards the fox again. He wouldn't let him have a chance to relax; even for a second.

The pressure continued, Foxy struggled to keep up with the attacks, new cuts and grazes appearing over his body for every other attack. It was only one more limb to deal with than before, but somehow that was already overwhelming enough. He had to break another one of them.

Foxy risked it, trying to catch one of the blades. He missed, a cut appearing on the back of his hand. He tried again. Another miss, no cut this time. He needed a better method of catching those blades…

His hook.

The vulpine waited for another strike, leaning out of the way before flicking his wrist and grabbing the hook. He caught the limb in it, locking it in place with his sword and twisting, snapping one of the split arms.

Spring Bonnie raged, screaming at him incoherently now and putting even more pressure on Foxy. The hare's abdomen peeled away as it morphed into two more bladed limbs. Foxy caught one and broke it, but not faster than Spring Bonnie could form three more from his back and chest.

Foxy couldn't keep up; every limb he broke was replaced with even more. He blocked all the attacks he could, dodging even more, but with the hare as he was now, it was just too many attacks to handle.

His opponent didn't even look like a person anymore. The only reminder that this thing was Spring Bonnie was the dirty golden legs and feet planted firmly on the ground. From the waist up, it was a pure mechanical nightmare. A dozen bladed metal limbs, maybe even more, all sprouting haphazardly from what once resembled a bipedal skeletal structure. All it was now was a spine, raw wires exposed, all leading to a blackbox where his head would've been.

There may very well have been a giant neon sign pointing at it, saying 'stab here to win,' but it would've made little difference as Foxy could barely even keep himself alive, let alone fight back.

It was like he was fighting a whirlwind of blades on legs, pushing him back effortlessly as Foxy barely defended himself from the rapid slashes and stabs. He was giving ground with every attack; holding his place wasn't even an option anymore.

Spring Bonnie pushed him further and further until Foxy's back was met with the cold rough surface of the arena walls. The hare let out a shallow, digitized roar as his remaining spine leaned back, then thrust forward, plunging nine blades at the vulpine.

Foxy deflected two, and dodged four more. But while those penetrated the metal wall, Foxy's right thigh was cut by one, his neck just barely grazed by two more, and his foot was stabbed all the way through. The blade pierced out the other side and stuck itself into the sand. He was completely pinned.

Cornered and at an utter disadvantage, Foxy panicked, swinging his blade at the monstrosity's exposed core, only catching air as it was just barely too short to reach. He attempted to swing again, only to hear Spring Bonnie's raw, radio-like voice laugh as one of the two remaining blades swung up to end the pathetic attempt. Foxy's left hand locked up as the feeling in it vanished. The bladed limb had ignored Foxy's sword entirely and instead caught his forearm, slicing halfway through his wrist before being stopped by the metal 'bone' in the center. The servos in Foxy's hand seized; his grip on the sword was the last thing he felt as the hand was now firmly stuck at the end of the grip.

The vulpine wasn't even afforded the time to worry about his hand as Spring Bonnie's final bladed limb plunged at his abdomen. As a split second reaction, Foxy did the only thing he could think of to defend himself.

He caught the blade with his bare hand, the skin of his palm slicing open as he poured all his strength into pushing it away. The appendage was insistent, pushing against him as they were locked in a reverse tug-of-war match to end Foxy's life.

What remained of Spring Bonnie roared at him, some mix of laughter and yelling all at once as he pressed in, the blade drawing closer and closer to Foxy's abdomen as the other one cut against the wrist of his half-severed hand. All the vulpine could do was resist.

A sharp pain made Foxy's fear rise to a new height, Spring Bonnie's appendage that had stabbed through his foot was pulling, trying to free itself from his foot and the sand underneath it. He heard metallic scrapes as the limbs that were lodged in the very wall he was pinned against were beginning to free themselves from the metal as well. If even one of those were freed, Foxy wouldn't be able to defend himself against it at all, giving the hare an easy killing blow.

He only had a few seconds left before he was finished off for good.

He glanced at the blade lodged in his wrist, then to the blade threatening to pierce right through him, and finally to the blackbox atop Spring Bonnie's spine.

The pain continued to rise as the blade in his foot began to slowly draw out, accompanied by metal scrapes as the many appendages around him were seconds away from freeing themselves.

He had a bad idea, and no time left.

Foxy, however, was no stranger to bad ideas.

In a sudden movement, Foxy lunged. He let go of the blade completely, allowing it to stab through his abdomen. He let out a scream at the pain, yanking down on his caught arm, pushing it against the blade so hard that it completely severed his hand.

His hand fell, still holding onto the sword. Foxy reached for it, grabbing the end of his own severed hand for the extra length, and plunged it at Spring Bonnie's blackbox.

All at once everything stopped.

Spring Bonnie's body fell to its knees, Foxy's blade lodged in its core, a severed hand still gripping its handle.

The vulpine grit his teeth, slowly pulling the blade in his abdomen out. It fell to the sand as he tossed the limp appendage away from him. He felt the lukewarm fluid leak onto his shirt, tingling while the ROCOM did its best to clot the wound. The ringing in his ears slowly began fading, being replaced by the roars of the crowd that he all but forgot was there.

Foxy stumbled a few feet forward, catching himself as his labored breaths finally reached his ears.

He'd done it.

There was probably a lot to think about at the moment. Overcoming odds, his trauma, saving his friends, hell, even just winning. But with all the coolant pumping through his body only just now beginning to slow down, all that came to mind was a smile he wanted to see again.

The crowd continued to roar, understandably so having just witnessed the death of a miserable era. The standout among them all, was Mikhail, still visibly beaten, just now taking back his usual spot in the stands. The crowd seemed to notice him as well, roars dying down into a light cheer as they anticipated his words.

"The old rabbit is dead," the wolf said, a barely noticeable wheeze laced through his voice. "As are the rules, Foxy, you are the new ringleader. Do you have any words for your people?"

Despite having a moment to calm down, the vulpine's breathing was still heavy. Foxy wheezed between pants as he straightened his posture, pressing his stump arm against his wound.

He spoke through labored breaths, but no less loud as before.

"Go home, rest. Change will come soon."

It wasn't the bombastic speech anyone in the stands had expected, but they seemed no less grateful to hear it.

"And of tomorrow's match?" the wolf asked, stifling a grin as he already knew the answer.

"I won't be having you all kill for sport anymore."

Slowly, as if the meaning of those words needed time to set in, the crowd began to applaud again. Not in praise or excitement, but entirely in their own relief. Foxy could feel it too, hearing his own words like they were spoken to, not by, him.

For the first time in forever, Foxy felt complete, untainted freedom. It was so overwhelming that he almost felt completely rejuvenated, as if he hadn't been stabbed or cut at all. In the back of his mind he knew this would wear off in minutes, but there was no reason not to enjoy it while it lasted.

He took a deep breath, his first one having finally stopped panting, and spoke much louder this time.

"There'll be no more kings or rulers, no more killing for entertainment, no more hiding in your own homes. And most certainly no more fighting for survival. Change will come, and I'll need your help to bring it. So as I said, go home and rest. There'll be work for us all tomorrow."

With that, Foxy turned to the archway he walked in from, beginning to slowly make his way home before one last thing.

"You heard Ringleader Foxy!" Mikhail barked. "There's work to be done, so rest!"

"Please," Foxy corrected. "Call me Captain."

Scarlet had been pacing around Foxy's room for so long that she'd lost track of how many laps she completed. Every cycle around the room's perimeter had the same objects in order of appearance– first the trapdoor, then a few boxes of spare parts strewn about, then the mat she slept on in the corner. Foxy's miniature library followed, now accompanied by her own stack of books next to it. Next came the window that she couldn't help but constantly peek out of, along with the small desk in the adjacent corner and the bookshelf next to that.

Trying to keep her mind occupied, she sat down on the mat, running her finger across the small pile of reading material she'd picked out. The novels were noticeably more emotional and sappy than Foxy's stack, a difference further exaggerated by Horton's note left on one of them.

Penny keeps bringing me books like these. I'm not sure why the sudden change in genre, but a book is a book.

Scarlet let out an amused exhale as she placed the sticky note back inside the front cover, flipping over to where her bookmark rested in between the pages. That lump of feathers really was as blind as a bat. A smile crossed her muzzle as she began to lose herself in the world on the page– sure, it may have been somewhat cheesy, but it was hers to get lost in. As she continued to read, however, her mind couldn't help but drift to Foxy.

They had done all they could– trained, tuned, rested, and everything in between to prepare him to take on Spring Bonnie. Worry still festered in her heart as she pondered the outcome of him not returning home. He'd come too far to turn back, and it wasn't like she was going to let him anyway.

She was proud of him, and wanted nothing more than for him to win so she could tell him that.

Her mind trailed off as her thoughts kept reminding her of the very real possibility that Foxy could be dead, and that look he gave her as he left for the arena was the last she'd see of him.

She set her bookmark into place before laying back on the mat, staring up at the ceiling. It hurt to think about, but she knew that if he'd lost, he would've died fighting for what he believed in. It felt so wrong to be sitting here, performing menial actions as if nothing important was happening.

Her ears twitched as a rhythmic thumping came from the ground floor of the shack. She practically jumped off of the mat, racing down the several flights of stairs before she reached the front door. Just as she was about to open it, Scarlet hesitated and took a deep breath. There was one outcome she was hoping for, and there was only one way to find out.

When the door opened, Scarlet found herself locking eyes with a red fox, whose fur was a few shades lighter than hers. A pair of bright orange eyes stared back into her vibrant emerald ones.

Foxy held himself up on the doorframe, clutching his stub arm with his free hand. The remaining shreds of his shirt were stained from the plethora of cuts and lacerations all over his body, along with a giant coolant stain over the fur of his abdomen. His face held a gaze she immediately got lost in, already overwhelmed by the fact that he'd done it.

He'd won.

"Hey," he smiled. His voice carried the warmth of the sun. "I uh… I did it."

Foxy didn't have the chance to say much else before Scarlet practically tackled him with a hug that felt like it was about to break his spine. She didn't say anything, only pulling them both together as tightly as possible to remind herself that he was, in fact, alive.

Nestling her cheek against his only heightened the euphoric feeling flowing through her as his arms snaked their way around her back. She wanted to speak up, to tell him how happy and how proud of him she was, but the emotions quickly began to take their toll on her ability to make any words. She did her best to keep breathing, reveling in their fur brushing together while they held each other.

"I'm glad you're okay," she whispered. "That's all I wanted."

"Would you have expected anything less," he grinned.

Scarlet rolled her eyes and squeezed him again. "No, I suppose I shouldn't have expected anything less from somebody who got his legs blown off on his first fight."

"You're not gonna let me live that down, are you?"

"If I don't, it'll be Diamond instead."

Foxy sighed as they finally pulled apart. "Actually, that just reminded me," he said. "I suppose since I've cheated death enough, now is as good a time as any to ask."

Scarlet smirked as he rubbed the back of his neck before continuing.

"Do you…want to go get drinks again? Just me and you this time."

The blush on his face while he looked at everything other than her almost made her 'aww' at the sight.

"Are you asking me out on a date?"

"If that's alright with you," he quickly added. "I don't want you to-"

Foxy was cut off by Scarlet wrapping him up in her arms again.

"I'd love to," she smiled.

He grinned before leaning into the embrace. For once, everything finally felt right again. He knew there would be a long road ahead of making sure everyone else felt the same way, but Foxy took his victories as he got them.

'Leaving the pizzeria was definitely the right decision.'

He felt a weight leave his shoulders. He could finally start to really call this place home, and he had a good idea of who would be there with him.

All of the suffering from losing his old friends to clinging to life over the previous months had finally come to a close.

…For now.

A/N:

CH: And that's the end of Arc 1! I hope you liked it! Please leave a review on the story as a whole if you have the time, I'd love to hear all your thoughts. If you're new, and read through this entire part without having to wait for uploads, I'd especially love to hear your feelings about the pacing. Critiques are always welcome.

On a similar note, I have an important question for all of you:

When we exit hiatus and begin publishing Arc 2, would you prefer it stay as a new chapter of the same story? Or, would you rather we publish it as a brand new story, new title and cover, the whole shebang. AO3 features a series system that works well for this, and FFN wouldn't be too much trouble as to update readers on the release of the next part (expect a To Be Continued chapter)

Let me know your thoughts in the reviews/comments!

SC: There's always more room for fluff, so expect an epilogue soon.