Okami, Terry and the Exceeds hurried back to the carriage where Dante and Sniff waited. They arrived to find Sniff on his feet again, glancing up and down the gap between the two trains, on the lookout for any attack. He breathed a sigh of relief and smiled as they appeared. 'Now it's just Alex missing...'
At that moment a sound behind him arrested their attention. Everyone turned to see what it was; the door of the next carriage opened and a weary-looking Alex appeared. 'You okay?' Sniff asked immediately.
'Sure, just had to take care of a couple of pests. Took a little longer than I planned,' she replied, stoic as ever.
All seven of then were back together, at last, and even better, all of them were alive. 'Alright guys,' Sniff said looking round at everyone. 'It's just Argent to deal with now. We know he's a Teleportation Mage so this is going to be tricky, but there must a be limits to his power. It's likely that he'll be able to avoid attacks pretty easily, so avoid flashy moves that use up a lot of Magic Power unless you're sure they'll hit.'
An sharp bang interrupted him. The portion of wall beside where Dante was sitting exploded, leaving a gaping hole big enough for a person to step through. They all looked through it and saw a suited man standing on the field beyond the train, looking at them and smirking. They all knew at once who he was. He raised his hand and motioned for them to come. He was inviting them to fight him.
'Alex,' Sniff continued, not taking his eyes off Argent, 'You stay back, keep a good distance and cover us. Okami, Terry, you're our mid-range fighters; Dante and I will try to create openings in close-range. You guys, when you spot them, strike then. But Dante, only move if you feel you're up for it. Alica, Tora, you're our eyes in the sky - if he teleports around, it's your job to spot him first and tell us.'
Sniff felt he should make some kind of charismatic, moving speech like Master Junsei would, but he knew he was no orator. The semblance of a plan would have to do. He hopped through the hole in the wall and landed softly on the dry grass beneath then began to walk slowly forward while everyone got in position. Behind him Alex also landed, walking forwards a little, staff raised.