Elora listened quietly as fellow team Apple members chimed in over comms once they had prepared themselves, and found herself slightly blushing with a little smile as Griff offered to take her out for good food after the battle. She was then flustered as Griff, having seen her enter the VR chamber, confirmed her own suspicions, and she covered her face with her hands in embarrassment.
"Um, okay, Griff," she found herself answering to him, if only in a pathetic attempt to shut him up.

She felt unfocused, as memories of Zel-Ghin rose like a ghastly cold mist, and as she tried preparing for the graphical generation of the Combat Analyzer accidentally pressed a button to activate the headlights of the machine, followed by quickly turning them off. Fortunately, Mema-Ka, using his gift for eloquence, reminded Elora of the duty she had: to her fellow team Apple members, but also to squad Solaire. To fulfill the mission, she would need to discard all unnecessary feelings of hate and revenge, as those would only blind her. She was also reminded of the happier times she spent training with Griff, and the goofy grin on that idiot's mug. She sighed, and took a firm hold of her controls. She responded:

"You are right, Mema-Ka. I will do my best, not only for team Apple, but for everyone."

(Logic Diver has received a +3 movement and +3 weapon range buff for the duration of the mission).

For a moment, as she felt encouraged, she felt that this might even be fun, like a sports festival at the academy. Even when earlier Jake gave her a warning about Bugatti through his device, she simply continued walking as instructed. Though she didn't want to break his trust, she was slightly tempted to dissuade the notions. To her, Bug was maybe eccentric, but ultimately a well-meaning gentleman. 

However, those assumptions were shattered soon after most of the pilots logged in when the 'gentleman' began his psychological warfare: she gasped upon seeing the scandalous photo, and a red blush crept over her cheeks, followed by hastily deleting the picture, only for another to pop up, and from his own teammate no less. While she could tell that Arrish wasn't fully serious about his response based on how much of a skirt chaser she knew him to be from the time they've spent time together, she was surprised by how nonchalantly he took Bug's teasing, and how capricious Bug was.
"These megabuildings might withstand the weight of a Very Light Framewerk," Elora then answered Arrish' query. "If the structural integrity is compromised in any way, then not even the lightest Framewerks can avoid crashing through them."

Unfortunately, due to being distracted by the Mango-caused kerfuffle, she missed Lucius's initial questions. Fortunately, Mema-Ka was quick on the uptake, and gave them an offer to join team Apple, though she wouldn't have phrased it as threateningly as he did. Nonetheless, Lucius then suggested becoming a double agent for them. Elora was conflicted on this: while she was aware of the importance of deceit in warfare, she had a feeling this was taking it a step too far for a training mission. After all, even if they were split into opposing sides, they would still need to work together to defeat the Cruxi: this kind of tactic could create an irreparable rift between the pilots of the Solaire squad if team Mango were to be shot in the back. Or even worse, Lucius was only pretending to betray team Mango when he was actually going to betray team Apple.

Elora finally decided on what she would do, trusting her heart, and connected Rex Artus to the encrypted team Apple channel, shielding the Framewerk from Electric Dragonfly's jamming. She then typed out a private message for Lucius' eyes only: "Please don't betray team Mango or team Apple, and choose whose side you will fight from the beginning. Even if we'll fight as enemies now, I don't want anyone's trust to be broken. I want us all to be friends."
With a wavering finger, she closed her eyes and pressed the key to send the message. She knew it was maybe naive of her, but she hoped it would dissuade him. She was then reminded of Mema-Ka's words to start triangulating his position. Soon enough, the Frame's position was placed on the minimap of team Apple's HUD, marked as a yellow dot to differentiate from the green dots of the team itself.

Finally, Ritsu's voice could be heard. "Team Apple, team Mango...team Banana," she spoke, seemingly careful with the last mention. "Due to the arrival of new participants, the rules for the mission will be restated: teams Apple and Mango compete until either team is wiped out by disconnection. This occurs upon taking damage that would be fatal in a real situation, deserting, or when the Executive Officer deems the Framewerk and/or pilot unable to continue fighting."

Next, it was Lorenzo's turn to speak. "Team Banana's destruction is not necessary for either team to achieve victory. They can be shot, or not. It is up to you to decide if you can trust a rogue actor in the middle of a battlefield."
He cackled, which turned into a slight cough, like the kind you often hear over Microsoft Teams virtual meetings and the person doesn't mute themselves, to the displeasure of everyone.
"Now then, remember to give it your all in this battle even if it is virtual: there are no second chances when up against the Cruxi, so take everything you've learned, and hone your skill to kill!" 
He paused.
"Ready!"
He paused again.
"Set!"
He paused one last time.
"GO!"

And with that signal, the battlefield suddenly transformed, as Framewerks activated all at ones, their engines roaring as clouds of dust were kicked up. Elora wasted no time herself, and activated the Cloaking System.

"Going ghost," she simply informed team Apple over the encrypted channel, and faded out of existence, nowhere to be seen. Only time would tell when she would appear again, or if team Mango discovers her whereabouts. But all the while, Logic Diver would be congregating geographical data of the battlefield, and transmitting it to team Apple through the Hyperwave Relay: soon enough, the minimap radar had transformed into a two-dimensional map, with every ally's position visible to the teammates, and even team Banana's position thanks to Elora's work from before: team Banana did not count as an enemy, after all, and Elora took full use of the loophole in Lorenzo's instructions.

[img]https://i.imgur.com/B4odlQ3.jpeg[/img]

Lorenzo himself simply watched with his hands held together behind him, his back in a slouch like the old man he was.
"So, regarding both teams' initial positions..." Ritsu was about to speak.
"I wanted to see how that Olympus doll would react...Just as I thought, it adjusted quickly," he spoke dismissively. "Athena would have thrown a hissy fit at her age, demanding a better starting position. She only later learned that life doesn't work that way."
Ritsu raised an eyebrow. "How..."

Lorenzo chuckled. "Enough of that. Let's watch the carnage ensue."