The feeling of weightlessness occurred simultaneously to several white-hot pinpricks in his back. Before he realized what was happening, Takeo's Frame slammed hard into ancient earth and stone, and his jaws snapped together from the impact.

	"SHIELD 17% DAMAGE. LEG RIGHT 7% DAMAGE. SHIELD 21% DAMAGE. LEG LEFT 13% DAMAGE. SHIELD 25% DAMAGE." Iron Sparrow's console exploded with a storm of lights and sounds, bringing Takeo out of his battle haze. He sat up in the cockpit, trying to make sense of the readings. The continuous damage to his back plate had stabilized, but he had no idea who had hit him. [i]Was someone leeching me? Or...some kind of acid?[/i] He pulled a series of interfaces and stood Iron Sparrow from its crouched position.

	"How did I end up in here?" The dust from the fall was settling, and he found himself in a massive crater. He also noticed that he was not alone, and his opponent, the sniper, was rising before him. "Ground must have been unstable," Takeo said, sliding back into position for battle.

	To his surprise, his opponent made no hint of attack, despite the plasma blade in their hand.

	"Better you than those braggarts of Ant, Korie or Ian," a female voice came through his audio feed. "Strike me down to get brownie points. Maybe you can make a comeback. If you can climb up."

	Takeo recognized the frequency signature of the Comet Sigma, pilot Sigma. A very unnerving girl, face never moving from stern composure. He was surprised at her surrender. He would have expected someone like Sigma to strike with unwavering purpose.

	A thought struck him, then. This was a mock battle, but fighting was not Iron Sparrow's only purpose on the field. As if reading his mind, the frequency signature of Aester, Takeo's new friend Korie, came through on the main channel.

	"Takeo, help the bird get back on its wings, would you?"

	He was not sure how Korie had meant it, but he quickly input general impact repair algorithms to his drones and targeted Comet Sigma's frequency. Thousands of small machines filled the air, drifting gently toward the other Framewerk.

	"Don't worry," Takeo said. "This won't hurt." He realized it might be confusing, so he spoke before Sigma had a chance to question his motives. "They said they wanted to see how we do in combat, right? Well, this is one of my combat functions, and it's not any less important." Letting his drones go to work, Takeo surveyed the area. "Maybe you can help me come up with a way out of here."