Deceptive

Stricken

Foxy stepped away from the wall and swung. He didn't think about where he was aiming at all. His eyes weren't even open. Part of him was hoping that he'd miss.

He didn't. The sledgehammer hit Riley. It struck her directly below her right eye. As soon as it made contact, there was a resounding crack from her mask, which shattered, and a sickeningly wet thud from her face. She nearly stumbled over, only managing to stay somewhat upright because the door frame was there to catch her.

Foxy became rooted to the spot. Partially out of surprise that he didn't miss, and partially out of surprise that he had actually decided to try and hit her in the first place. There was an instant stab of guilt through his chest, which he tried his best to ignore.

Riley was bent over, trying to recollect herself. It would be pretty easy to strike her once more, to go straight for the back of her head. That would be all it took, right? How many swings to the head did it take to kill somebody with a sledgehammer? It couldn't have been a lot. Foxy hoped it wasn't a lot.

He tried to once again get a firm grasp on the handle and to lift the weapon back up, but he couldn't.

"Going to hit me again?" Riley asked, bringing her head up to look at him. Her hair was a bit in the way, but Foxy could still see a decent amount of her heavily scarred face.

"I, uh..."

"Do it." A half-smile grazed her lips. "Do it. I want you to."

There was a slight dent where the hammer had struck her face. And her right eye, which was slowly becoming tinged red with blood, appeared somewhat sunken in.

"Don't half-ass the job, Fox."

Foxy brought the sledgehammer back over his shoulder.

He raised it into the air.

Riley continued to stare at him expectantly with her dull, lifeless eyes.

He swung downward.

At the last second, he swerved to the right so that he missed and hit the floor instead.

What was wrong with him? Foxy had already done it once. All he had to do was do it again. "I can't," he choked out instead.

Riley's smile got bigger, showing teeth. "Aw, that's disappointing. Can't ever do anything to save yourself, can you? Even when it couldn't be easier." She stood back up fully, cracking her neck as she slowly began advancing towards him. "But I'm not surprised."

There was a loud pounding coming from somewhere down below them, but Foxy could barely hear it over the sound of his heart pounding in his ears.

Riley roughly shoved him into the wall, catching him by the throat again.

Foxy attempted to do what he had done last time to escape. Unfortunately, he found that the leather straps were now pulled ridiculously tight and knotted. His trembling fingers couldn't undo them.

The thumping started to become much louder.

Foxy tried kicking Riley, which didn't do much at all.

The rusty nails of the pincer started to press against his face with slow and deliberate pressure. He wanted to scream, but his voice seemed to have left him. Pain was beginning to blossom throughout his face and Riley was definitely drawing blood.

"Foxy!"

A tall figure flung themselves through the doorway and smashed something over Riley's head. Simultaneously, the grip of Foxy's neck loosened and the pincer pressed harder against the sides of his face before both pulled away entirely.

Foxy didn't even react. He just sunk down onto the floor and sat there, the feeling of blood beginning to drip down his neck and onto the collar of his shirt barely even registering.

He could see Micahel standing there, grabbing his sister around the neck with both arms. He craned her neck back and before she could even try to begin and get him to let go, Freddy, Ballora, and Charlie rushed into the room. Charlie and Ballora grabbed her arms, both of them clearly struggling to maintain their holds.

"Freddy, hurry!" Charlie grunted.

"Let go of me!" Riley growled.

Freddy raised up a bit of wood, hesitating slightly before clocking Riley straight in the face with it.

Riley stopped struggling after that. After her arms were released, Michael gently laid her down on the floor.

"Are you okay?" Ballora asked Foxy.

Foxy spent another minute getting oxygen back into his lungs before responding. "Where did you guys go? I just... I..."

"We'll explain in a second. Let's just get out of here before she gets back up again." Charlie grabbed Foxy's arm and pulled him up to his feet.

Riley was already starting to stir again. What did Afton do to her?