Chapter 14: Sally and Antoine team up.

X.x.x. Back in the Museum .x.x.X

The sounds of battle, it's all too easy for Sally to follow as she frantically chases after Antoine and free him from his metal assailant.

(Dammit) Sally curses under her breath, (We had him, he was just within our grasp. He was right under our nose and got away, leading to this. The team is in separate fights and we may need each other for aid. Worst of all, we ended up leaving Sonic alone to face Nimero again.) She stops and shakes the doubt out of her mind. (I can't afford to waste focus, Antione needs my help). In her renewed focus, she spots Antoine with his back against the wall and struggling mightily against the new metal foe. The single red eye in the middle of a blank expressionless face that reveals nothing but cold, uncaring calculation as it grabs the coyote's free arm and slams it to the wall. Seeing Antoine losing the battle and the color beginning to fade out of him at the hands of this basic EXO, Sally forms a laser shield and slams into the robot with all her weight and momentum. The EXO slides down the hall and slams into the elevator, shredding the wall and metal box with its steel claws clinging on to the elevator just in time to see a laser disk sailing through the air and slice into the wall above the cabin and severing the cables. This sends the car and the EXO flying down the shaft to a deafening crash as the elevator cabin smashes into the ground floor below.

"Merci Sally, that was too close for comfort." Antoine weakly coughs as Sally helps him up from the floor. "You think that was enough to..." the clanging and groaning of the metal wreckage below answers him.

"Afraid not Antoine, looks like it's in the gallery." Sally remarks as she looks for another way down the elevator shaft.

"Well then," Antoine starts to back away from the shaft, a slight panic in his voice "I say we go help Bunnie and Sonic with their problems and come back for that one. That thing is probably barely working and we can finish him off later."

"Then it's our job to make sure that piece of scrap doesn't hurt anyone else." She reaches a hand out to Antione "How about it Antoine, let's send it back to Robotnik in parts." Antoine nods as they both grab onto the emergency ladder built into the shaft walls and begin their descent to chase the robot down to the gallery below. Plaster flies away as Sally cuts her way through and both heroes hop down to the gallery floor. The EXO stands in the center of the room, its once shining white outer armor is now a dull ivory and covered in dents from the damage as it quietly awaits its targets' arrival to continue their fight.

"So, any ideas on how to damage this thing, Antoine?"

"The black mesh in between its plates are covering its joints," as he points to a tear in the side of the EXO, showing torn wires and cables. "Those spots are weak to my blade."

"Sounds like a plan," The gentle hum of lasers begins as Sally reforms a blade and shield. "I hope you're ready Antoine to send this thing packing."

Antoine grins and readies his sword "Ladies first" calmly following her lead.

The EXO, now realizing the fight had continued, raises its arms into a boxing stance and readies itself as the pair circle around the mech like wolves around prey. As the pair have it in between them, they both turn and charge as they attack from both sides, Sally going for the neck and Antione going for the legs. The EXO runs and slides under Sally's sword and throws her into an armor display as it crashes on top of her. The EXO then turns to see Antoine is left alone to stand alone against the metallic foe. Antione's charge was slowed by fear at first, but the new emotion of rage takes center stage.

"SALLY," Antione grips his sword tighter and charges at the bot. Between the unaffected clanging deflecting blows of the armor, Antoine makes several quick strikes at the mesh openings, making more cuts into the mesh and severing wires. As the two separate, the EXO staggers back as the loss of wires slows his movements. Seeing success within reach Antoine's pride begins to show "That's what you get for challenging me" with a confident flourish, he leaps with vigor and enthusiasm "You will pay dearly you son of a..." Antione's blade is caught by it as if it were made of plastic in the machine's armored palm. The EXO tightens its grip making a cracking sound as it begins crushing the sword in its grasp. Despite Antione's best efforts to struggle free, a punch sends him sliding across the floor crashing into a recovering Sally, leaving only in his grasp a fractured half of the sword attached to the hilt.

"Okay, we may have been a little uncoordinated. Let's try this again from the top. The pair quickly roll and recover, lunging again with renewed vigor with Sally on point with shield blocking from the front and sword swinging counter attacks. Whenever the EXO tries to flank the pair, Antoine parries with the broken sword and allows the pair to turn to face him and keep their strongest formation at its face. As the melee chess match continues, Sally spots an opening and lands a full hit on its armor. The armor melts away, leaving a massive opening that reveals the glowing orange core. Realizing its vitals are exposed, the EXO immediately hops back and shoves a whole wooden gemstone display at them. Thinking fast, Sally draws all energy into the blade and in one massive laser arc swing cleaves the display in two. This was the opening it was waiting for as it dashed forward and grabbed Sally by the neck and held her in the air, her feet struggling to reach the ground. Before Antoine can react, he is kicked into a mirrored wall with such force several pictures and artifacts fall off the wall around it falling onto floor. Sally tries to reform a blade to gut this thing but the rings are both drained from the last attack. The EXO then drops her and drives a metal leg into Sally's gut as she is falling skipping her across the floor and into Antoine. The impact sends them both back into the wall, leaving a crater, a spray of plaster, and a cloud of dust. Thinking that the targets are done, the EXO turns to start ripping elevator remnants from the entrance. Sally gingerly stands up as a stabbing pain in her side hints that the last hit left more than bruises. Sally winces and holds her side as she can only guess she's got a broken rib at least. She searches for her ally to find a worn and cut-covered Antoine who is limping heavily as he pulls a mirror shard from his leg. "Please tell me your laser bands aren't…"

"Drained? Yeah and I'm fresh out of ideas as well." Sally rips a curtain to help Antoine's leg but the coyote refuses, pointing at a fire extinguisher and smiles.

"I have an idea" raising the broken sword "but we got one shot at this…"

The EXO is halfway through the debris before it spots a red cylinder out of the corner of its view. It swipes and breaks the extinguisher, spewing white powder in a massive cloud. Despite the loss of vision, it effortlessly swats a creeping Antoine's saber out of his hand and stomps on the coyote's bloody leg. All Antoine can see in his pain-induced tunnel vision is the blank red orb in the center of his attacker's metal face. As it raises a limp to pummel Antoine's face into paste, a sound of scraping metal and crackling electricity burst through the EXO's chest as a sharpened piece of an ancient obsidian dagger plunges into the mech's chest and into the core by a determined Sally. Antoine scrambles out of the way as the EXO collapses to the ground in a tile-crunching thud as an exhausted Sally rolls off it's metal carcass.

"You're still alive, Antoine" an exhausted Sally calls out, the sound of Antoine coughing and a thumbs up is all the confirmation she gets and needs. Sally shakily stands with her arm nursing her side "Okay, let's get you to safety" and helps a banged up Antione limp out of the museum doors. As they make it slowly out the door, they are met by the gale of the airship above them...

X.x.x. The Airship .x.x.X

As Antoine is resting in the on board medbay as the nanites mend his leg, Sally walks to the navigation room and meets up with both Bunnie and Nicole "Thanks for the pick-up," she stops and sees the rabbit's injuries "Bunnie you look terrible..."

"Ah could say the same for you hun, looks like a couple of busted ribs from here."

Nicole teleports closer to her friend and frowns "Things that you should be in the med-bay for, there is more than enough room..."

"I know but we have to get back up to the roof and help Sonic before..."

"Neither Sonic or the lion are within miles of this location, the battle got more active after you two left, we are on a rendezvous course as we speak, since your stubbornness won't let you go to the med-bay, I suggest you find a seat and hang on." As the airship is put through its paces as it begins its pursuit "I fear time may not be a friend to us."