While Elora should have expected it, she was still humbled by the words of gratitude and even praise that she heard from the other pilots, especially Harold; she was glad that nobody could see the blush she developed in embarrassment. However, it was quickly followed by contradicting orders from various pilots; Zero and Lora wanted her to stay in the air as a spotter of hostile movement while Ariin and Harold wanted her to support them down in zone B. Anxiety started swelling up in her; no matter how she chose she would cause people to get angry at her for not obeying, and that caused her to squirm in her seat. She had to choose between two pilots who so far have stepped up to the task of directing this task force and assumed a position of leadership; Lora and Harold.

Finally, she decided on what to do, and answered into her comms: "Roger, Destiny. Scouting for hostility." It all came down to her fear of the battle, and that she believed she served a better purpose assisting the entire team with intelligence instead of staying as a ground trooper. While she was a poor flyer, she put all herconcentration to it, and managed to keep a course, even if wobbly, as she headed for zone G where she could perform an arena-wide scan. On the way, she heard how distressed Sigma was about Irina, and didn't dare to comment on it. If someone as cool and composed as her could show so much emotion when she was the subject, she couldn't imagin how scary she actually was. She hoped that she wouldn't have to meet her in combat. Though an involuntary giggle escaped from her lips when she heard Sigma's strawberry line and the ensuing reaction. She felt bad for it, and but felt that she wasn't as tense as before. Maybe this was going to end well after all.

Meanwhile, most of the Framewerks arrived at zone B except for Black Star which accidentally misstepped and tripped, and Yeager, which lost control of its trajectory after suddenly accelerating with the overboosters and spun in the air before landing head first in the dirt. 
Countless stone monuments littered the area, and in many places were thick enough in density to conceal even the large bodies of the Framewerks. However, it was also a shadowy location, and as Serah reached the edge of the pillar with her weapon at the ready, she noticed the shadow cast by the pillar to take a disturbing shape; it was that of a reptilian humanoid, with long spikes on its body including two vertical fins on its shoulders, and a sinuous tail fitted with an bladed tip. Serah looked upwards, and then saw the thing that was as far removed from a regular Framewerk as was possible; it was more monster than machine, and roared with a metallic yet bestial tone as it lifted it's arms and shot what looked like electrified wires fitted with spikes at Atty. However, the shock grapplers missed and attached to a nearby pillar. Not only that, but the pilot of the fearsome-looking Frame seemed to lose its balance from the recoil, and was pulled by the wires, resulting in crashing into the obelisk. A female scream could be heard on the command channel as it happened. However, it was strangely not a natural scream, but a rather forced one. The impact broke the ultralight machine's armor asunder, and the neck on the dragonian head was bent at a 180-degree angle on the mangled remains. What seemed to be a deadly ambush from a nightmarish monster turned out as a pathetic case of accidental self-termination.

When the other Framewerks took their positions, they saw that there were several Framewerks coming from the Mystery Zone, which seemed to be a small hill with a some kind of station at the top; a white Framewerk wielding dual pistols, a black-and gray Frame with a glowing blue sword, and farther into the distance two incredibly slow but enormous Framewerks ponderously advanced, the other a blacker type with a massive gun, and the other a white, regal style to it holding a set of sword and shield. These Framewerks were so far behind that it would take another turn before they reached the edge of the Forest of Pillars.

Eiswolf reached the top of the Tower of Power. From her position Sigma now saw what the enemy side looked like, but before she could have a good look she was met with a frightening sight; a four-legged tank flied slowly through the air straight towards her position on top of the tower. However, it seemed that the pilot of the strange Framewerk realized that it was too late to capture that point, and in a foolish move, descended down and landed on the side of the tower by spreading it's legs and clutching on to it, like a flea. However, without any means of holding onto the tower's surface like claws, it soon slipped off and fell down on it's back with a loud crash, followed by another scream, with the same female voice as the first. It seemed to smash the Slag Cannon mounted on top of it completely and had major damage incurred to it's central body as a result, and was unable to move as it's legs flailed in the air like that of an upturned insect.

Elora also reached the tower, and witnessed as the quadrupedal machine met the harshness of the laws of physics.
The young girl stared at the thing with wonder. [i]Is that...our enemy? It doesn't seem so threatening as I thought...[/i] She then snapped awake, and shook her head. [i]Now's not the time for that! I need to get started on my scanning.[/i] She performed the geographical analysis of the area, and now had the full map of the arena uploaded to the other pilots. "Target area scanned. Hostiles are grouped in...wait." As she looked at the red dots that colored the map, she noticed something very odd. "There's one unit in zone B, 2 between zones B and C with two more advancing, ummm..." Elora was obviously not used to talking for as long as she did, but she managed to continue. "Two in zone D, one in zone E, and...uhhh, four or five in zone F. But that's weird. Why would they spread themselves so thin?" As Elora thought about it, she remembered the scream that she heard. [i]That must have been the enemy pilot...well of course, that Irina woman was also on-[/i]

Elora's wide eyes widened even further, and for amoment she seemed to freeze, before she started shaking in a panic-like state once she fully comprehended the dreadfulness of her realization. She attempted to hit the comms button, but her finger slipped, causing her even more distress to the point that she started to scream. "They heard us!" She desperately cried into the channel. "Command channel was compromised! It's a trap! GET OUT OF THERE!"

But she was too late, as was signaled by the barely audible yet distinct sound of a whistling payload dropping down from the sky, soon followed by the ear-locking noise of a barrage of Titan Shells detonating on top of the Forest of Pillars with enough force to level a colony. The wide range of the blast reached the entire zone, and it was only due to the cover the stone monuments provided that the Framewerks inside survived with only minor damage to their systems and plenty of rubble on their chassis. However, it was soon going to be followed by another mortar strike, and the pillars were too broken to provide any real cover against another attack of that scale. Black Star and Yeager were unharmed due to being outside the zone when the shells hit it.

Sigma spotted the source of the strike; a silver Framewerk with cannons on its back was crouching at the edge of the Abyss, a rent chasm in the earth that seemed to be bottomless in its depth. And the shiny tosser wasn't alone; it was accompanied by a white Framewerk of exotic design wielding a long-barreled rifle. It spotted Eiswolf after its attention was drawn to the fallen spider tank, and now took aim using its scope, preparing to shoot Sigma. She now had to act fast, and choose between two fates. The real battle has begun, with the pilots paying the price for their folly.