"Did you have any specific plan in mind, Itzel?" Janus asked while his back remained pressed against that of his teammate. Itzel kept her spear pointed forward as they both continued to scour the land. "You seemed really dedicated to the idea of splitting up. I was wondering what your next step was."

"Working on it."

"Oh. So, it was one of those kinds of plans, huh? Impromptu?"

"Basically. Mag's got a gun. I've got a spear. You... are back-up. I was hoping we could just hit the Sand Carver enough so that it goes down for good."

"Just like any other Essencima," Janus said as his eyes scanned the horizon.

"Exactly."

The Transporter was attacked again. The pair turned their heads to the location of the vehicle and saw it rock towards them.

"It's on the other side!" Janus shouted. On the roof, Mag had turned around. A large blue spark burst from his gun followed by the sound of electricity. Following the cannon's shot, another low and deep squeal soared through the desert. The ground trembled gently, accompanied by the noise of grinding of rocks and sand not too far off.

"I think it's coming for us," Itzel whispered. She shifted her body to face the tip of the Pilot's Section and angled the spear downwards.

Looking up, Janus could see Mag wave at them from the distance. With one hand, he aggressively pointed at the ground in their direction. "You're right!" Janus exclaimed. "That thing is on its way!"

The vibrations in the ground became faster and more intense. Both Janus and Itzel spread their legs apart to balance themselves through the miniature earthquake. "Let's hope this spear can do its job then," Itzel said. She gritted her teeth and clenched onto the handle of the spear with both hands. "I'm going to need you to back up a bit, Janus."

"Why is that?"

"In case I don't make it. Someone else is going to need to drive the spear through that thing. And both of us standing side by side is just going to make it easier for the Sand Carver to swallow us in a single bite."

"Fine. But I'm not going too far away. I still want to be close enough to back you up in case things get too dicey."

Itzel turned to Janus, giving him a short nod of understanding. As the shaking in the ground intensified, Janus stepped back. Coming from around the corner of the Transporter, the waves of upturned desert closed in on them. Itzel strengthened her stance, practically digging her shoes into the dirt as she watched the cascade of yellow earth barrel towards her. Petrified, Janus stared at the moving mound, too scared to back away further.

The purple flesh of the creature's scales soon became visible as it stuck the top of its body of the ground. It roared, ejecting the entirety of its body out of its tunnel. The creature’s mouth opened wide as it soared at Itzel with a trajectory close to the ground. Itzel's firm stance with her spear soon gave way as he dashed to her side, converting her sprint into an Advancing Tempest. The Sand Carver barreled past her, the side of the Essencima grazing her.

Knocked off course during her Special Technique, Itzel stumbled forward before sliding across the ground stomach first. The spear slipped out of her hand fell onto the dirt beside her.

"Itzel!" Janus shouted as he ran to her side. The woman began to get up, balancing on her hands and knees until Janus took hold of her shoulder and lifted her off the desert floor. She wobbled to her right before landing on her knee.

"I-I don't know if I'll be able to puncture that armor it has," Itzel said. She reached down and rubbed her right ankle. "That thing barely grazed me, and I thought my foot was going to follow off." They both turned around and saw the Sand Carver lying belly down on the sand. The sound of Mag's gun rang out again, sending out another large spark flying across them and hitting the Sand Carver. It spasmed for a moment and hissed once more before plunging its mouth into the ground and vanishing underneath the dirt.

"At least Mag's a good shot," Janus said.

"The Sand Carver definitely doesn't like getting hit by that cannon," Itzel said.

"So, it's at least somewhat effective. The way it burrows back underground every time it gets hit probably means its trying to avoid the shock altogether."

"Obviously,” Itzel said with a grunt as she rubbed her hurt ankle.

"If that spear uses the same tech as that cannon and it can deliver a steady charge, maybe it can deal enough damage to put an end to it for good."

"That's what I was trying to figure out with my original plan!" Itzel snapped as she tended to her sore ankle. "You're just repeating what I've been thinking all along!"

"I know, I know. Sometimes I just think out loud. But I've got an idea in mind."

Itzel darted her head towards Janus. "Tell me!"

"That Sand Carver moves fast. Instead of one of us trying to stab it, maybe we could get it to stab itself."

"You’re saying use it's speed against it?"

"Exactly. If that thing lands on the spear at the proper angle, it might get lodged in there for good. It's just a matter of figuring out how to get position the spear and get the Sand Carver to speed into it without anyone getting hurt."

Itzel looked at some of the chunks of rocks left behind from the creature's burrowing. "We could probably stick the end of the spear in between a few stones. That way it'll be in there tight."

"And we've got to position it just right, so the weapon doesn't break, either."

"This will be a risky plan, Janus. If we lose that spear, then everyone here is as good as done."

"I know, I know," Janus replied. They both watched the path of the Sand Carver head towards the back side of the Transporter. "We could try to turn the tables on it whenever the Sand Carver goes in for an attack on the Transporter."

"That's not a bad idea. It's just a matter of figuring out where and when," Itzel replied.

"It must have some kind of strategy. Taking out a large vehicle requires at least some smarts."

The vehicle shook again from another impact on the side opposite from Janus and Itzel. "Seems like it's main tactic is to hit the same side over and over," Itzel said as she got up to her feet.

"Looks like we need to go around. How are your feet doing?"

Itzel dug her heel into the dirt. "Sore. But I'll manage."

"Alright. Let's head around to the other side. We'll probably figure more out there." Janus moved first, watching Itzel pick up the weapon before sprinting towards the sound of Essencima wailing.