The Vulturo struck like a thunderclap, wings driving up storms of sand that blinded eyes and stung flesh. Its shriek rattled the bones of every man on the field as it swooped, talons gouging deep furrows in the dunes. Wolves yelped and scattered, the Alpha snarled in fury, and the Resistance men nearly lost their footing.
But Serah Farron stood her ground. She caught Mog in his bowsword form, loosing glowing arrows into the gale. Each shot flared bright, streaking into the bird's wing, cutting shallow wounds across its bronze-streaked feathers. The Vulturo screeched, banking wide, sand exploding in its wake.
Amalia sprinted beside her, robes whipping around her legs, staff glowing as she threw up a shimmering ward. The barrier broke the gale long enough for both of them to breathe.
"What are you doing here?" Serah called over the wind, loosing another arrow.
Amalia's eyes burned, her voice sharp. "I'll ask you the same thing!"
They locked eyes for a heartbeat in the chaos.
"Serah," the girl said.
"Amalia," the healer replied, gripping her staff tighter.
The bird shrieked again, diving.
Serah rolled, firing as she moved. Arrows streaked into the sand as the beast twisted past. Amalia slammed her staff down, light flaring into vines that erupted from the ground, snaring at its talons. The Vulturo bucked, ripping free in a spray of grit.
It wheeled back, wings churning. Sand slashed across their faces. Its talons raked down, nearly splitting Serah in two — Amalia hurled herself forward, her ward intercepting just in time.
Serah panted, sweat dripping down her face. "Thanks."
Amalia straightened, eyes blazing. She dropped her staff to her side — then drew steel from her hip. A sword gleamed in her hand.
Serah blinked. "You… carry a sword?"
"You thought I would only heal?" Amalia slashed across the bird's claw as it dove again, sparks flying. "You don't know me."
Serah grinned, even as Mog groaned. "I like her."
Together, they pressed forward. Serah loosed volleys while Amalia struck with steel, switching seamlessly between quick cures and sudden blade work. It was an odd rhythm — but effective. The Vulturo shrieked in pain, wings faltering under their combined strikes.
Across the battlefield, Vivi and Auron carved through wolves.
The boy mage's staff blazed, arcs of lightning lancing across the pack. Wolves convulsed and smoked where they fell, fur singed. The eight Resistance soldiers surged behind him, hacking down any that survived the blast.
Auron was unrelenting. His great curved blade cleaved wide, each swing felling two and three wolves at once. His crimson coat was already stained dark, but his eye burned with cold focus. Every step he took pressed the line forward, giving the men room to breathe.
"Keep pushing!" the captain roared, his own blade flashing as he cut into a wolf's side. "Trust your brothers!"
The Resistance answered with hoarse shouts, blades clanging against fangs.
Clive and Lunafreya, meanwhile, fought to contain the Alpha. The beast circled them with frightening speed, its movements almost soldier-like. Clive swung his greatsword, but each strike cut only air. The wolf darted in, claws raking across his arm. Blood splattered the sand.
Luna gasped, raising her staff. "Clive, it's too fast! My wards can't hold forever!"
The Alpha's jaws snapped again, her barrier cracking like glass.
Clive grimaced, his boots sliding back in the sand. "Damn it—Vivi! We need you — slow this monster down!"
The boy mage's head snapped up. He saw Clive's blood, Luna's flickering shields. He nodded fiercely. "I'm coming!"
Auron cleaved another wolf in half. "Go, boy! I'll cover you!"
The Resistance captain sprinted to Vivi's side, parrying snapping jaws. "I'll shield him! Cast your spell!"
Vivi darted through the chaos, cloak snapping in the gale. He planted his staff into the sand, chanting with every breath in his small chest. "Slow!"
A wave of aether pulsed outward, chains of invisible weight snapping around the Alpha. The beast staggered mid-leap, claws dragging as if the desert itself had seized its limbs.
Clive grinned savagely. "Got you now."
He charged, his greatsword cleaving deep into the wolf's side. Luna's holy glare seared its flank, Vivi's fire burst across its fur, the captain's blade struck true. The Alpha howled, staggering, blood pouring into the sand.
Meanwhile, Serah and Amalia's duel with the Vulturo grew desperate. The bird shrieked, storms battering them, talons cutting shallow gashes across their arms. Amalia's cures glowed, sealing wounds even as her sword struck again and again. Serah loosed another volley, each arrow glowing with Mog's energy.
But still, the bird pressed on, gale winds nearly bowling them over.
Then the sand shook.
A crimson blade slashed across the bird's flank, blood spraying. Auron had arrived, his coat whipping, his single eye steady.
"I'm here," he said simply.
Serah's eyes lit, Mog humming in her grip. "Perfect. Then let's do this properly."
Her stance shifted. Her voice rang sharp over the storm. "Paradigm Shift!"
Mog's pom-pom glowed. Energy surged through her, her attacks sharpening.
"COM, RAV, RAV!" she cried, arrows blazing with elemental fury. Auron's cleaves pressed the bird back, Amalia's buffs and cures weaving into their rhythm. The Vulturo staggered.
"COM, COM, MED!" Mog shifted into blade form, Serah hacking relentlessly. Amalia's magicks closed their wounds, Auron's strikes hammered deep into its chest.
Finally Serah narrowed her eyes, breath ragged. "Time to end this. COM, COM, COM!"
Her storm of blows fell like thunder. Auron cleaved through its chest, Amalia thrust her sword into its wing, and together their assault overwhelmed it. The Vulturo screamed one last time before collapsing into the sand, twitching once, then lying still.
Across the field, Clive roared as his greatsword drove into the Alpha's chest. Luna's holy light burned through its side, Vivi's fire detonated across its body, the captain's sword struck its throat. The wolf convulsed, then fell lifeless into the blood-soaked sand.
The battlefield fell silent.
Wolves lay scattered in heaps. Vulturo's corpse smoldered. Blood pooled into the dunes, darkening the earth.
The Resistance dropped to their knees, gasping, weapons falling from trembling hands.
Amalia stood with her sword still in hand, her cheek streaked with blood, her eyes fixed on the strangers who had turned the tide.
Unfamiliar. Unnatural. Yet… they saved us.