Mema-Ka

Mema-Ka swiped the imagery of Arrish and Griff from his display, his expressions were not of amusement or annoyance. But there were no time for him to respond to what he regarded as childish games, perhaps if he had been younger he may have found it amusing, then again knowing himself probably not. His brother however were the kind of person to enjoy these kind of jokes.

'Childish games...' He thought and quickly typed back to Lucius.

'Feeling is mutual. We acknowledge your plan of action, Lucius, proceed ahead and locate team Mango. Upon receiving codeword: Fruitpunch, fire at will upon team Mango. The high command is watching. Dedicate yourself to a cause and stick with it. Doubt is the foundation of defeat.'

He sent the message after quickly typing it out then brought up the voice communications for his team, excluding Lucius from it if possible

"The 'Obscure' is to be regarded as a sleeper agent, trigger it by using codename Fruitpunch once the lines collide. If the 'Obscure' remains unwilling to act the part it has offered. Regard it as hostile and shoot it down. Mema-Ka over." He swiftly relayed in a matter of fact to his team, his voice still collected and orderly. Wherever the battle would go, he was prepared to do his outmost to make certain his team would be able to stand up the other force, despite knowing fully well who he was up against.

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Mema-Ka leapt from the ground with his Raptor framewerk, using it's strong backwards jointed legs to jump forwards moving from position [Z-15] into [T-15], taking slight cover behind the building and looking around the corner. The Raptor proceeds by preparing to use a [Reaction Shot] using it's [Marker Light] rifle would an enemy move into it's line of view.

Griff

'I knew that old geezer was a bad guy after all!' He slammed his fist into the palm of his other hand as if he had just come to a revelation on hearing Aurora's words about Lorenzo. Then he noticed the display. Huh? There was an image of him and Arrish kissing.

"What the fu- When did he?! Wait a second! I never kissed Arrish! Those are not my abs! This is fake!" He slammed his fist into the display, someone was trying to get a rise out of him. But… he just didn't know who? He had a nagging suspicion that it had to be some form of alien psychological warfare. Rhylaen was indeed a very likable suspect. She probably thought he was… hot. Shit.

He knew that someday his flawlessly trained body would be too much for females of any species and it would put a stop to his great days of being a bachelor and martial arts enjoyer. He wasn't opposed to the idea of eventually becoming a family man and settle in some temple and train young promising bodybuilding martial artists with framewerk piloting as a hobby. But fuck. He was too young and lively to settle down. Like his father had always told him when he was young.

'Son. A man doesn't know true happiness until the day he's married. But by then… it's too late.' Griff could hear the words of his father, he didn't really get the entire meaning but he thought it meant the end of the good old day. He had much more muscles to find out he didn't realize he had. His head started to hurt abit the more he thought about it. Sometimes people spent too much time thinking and too little asskicking. He had already forgotten about the image of him and Arrish, but being who he were he was going to ask Arrish the tough question later. If he was in fact just pretending to be into the women, and were in fact in love with him. It did seem to make the most sense to the blond, he had gotten angry at him in the planning room before for reasons he couldn't quite remember. But that did seem like something a tsundere would do.

That was it. Arrish was gay. He was likely jealous of the special training time that Elora had gotten and his own challenges with Minerva. Oh that was right. Minerva had never answered him about his challenge. Maybe she were scared? That had to be it. She probably knew that he was literally Van Dough of framewerks. The old dead geezer was named that right? Now wasn't the time to think.

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Griff's ears perked up on hearing Elora thanking him, it made him feel heat on his face. 'It was nothing… stupid!' He mentally grumbled to himself, then they got the go ahead to move.

The Shiva went up next to the Raptor. Argo. Squid and Argent... those were his targets. According to Aurora. But he didn't yet know where they were. So he had to do with what he had.

Shiva now was located at [T-14], and it readied a [Reaction Shot] with his [Slag Cannon] would any framework on team Mango chose to appear before him.

Zel-Ghin

'Hmm? Such confidence. Scary~' He thought and licked his lips on hearing Minerva's rejecting his help. 'But that just makes you all the more interesting~ Heh~' His purple eyes darted to the display having now seen the image Bug had sent. Of Arrish and Griff kissing.

"Ahaha hah hah! Now that's what I am talking about! Too bad those two are not in my sights... hnn hnn..." He giggled and laughed in his framewerk, but his amusement came to a halt as he heard the pilot of the Mother Goose, Stella telling him to get out of the way.

"Haaah? No one likes a pushy push push~ But as you wish! Go ahead cyborg mermaid! Charge ahead! Hah hah!" He replied back to Stella, a grin on his lips. He had no intention to shield her if she wouldn't give him what he believed were due respect. The more he thought about it, if that hulking machine were to be taken out then he would have the entire field as his own playground. If there were a highscore to be gotten it would be his for the taking. He wouldn't want the challenge to be too easy after all, that would take out all his motivation. He wanted to be challenged. Fighting the boss at the highest difficulty. That kind of thing.

While imagining chasing down Elora was high on his priorities, he needed to impress her with his combat prowess if words wouldn't do the trick. Wasn't that how it usually were in nature? The males would fight until only one would remain? That did sound right to him. The survival of the fittest. After all he had been made for that very purpose. As much as he abhored following the vision of his creators, he couldn't deny his own capabilities and knowing where their limits were. Though he had yet to find his equal in battle, he didn't have his hopes up he would. But at least the possibility of it happening was enticing enough. His genes were beckoning him to fight. Zel-Ghin dashed his Squid framewerk forth, charging his [Particle Cannon], dashing from [H-15] to [M-18] and spending his [Bugatti Token] for extra movement. He bit down on his lower lip slightly, the fun was about to begin.

The pictures -- from her opponents and from her own team -- were mere distractions. At Lorenzo's signal, Rhylaen started moving slightly left, then forward. She spotted Atty approaching from the opposite side, and quickly ducked behind the next building before her. She wasn't ready to face the fast frame alone. Instead, she activated her jamming system, covering a large area in communications blackout. She knew that with Logic Diver on her team, Strike Team Apple would still be able to communicate in that area.

((moving to U12))

---

Sparks had to smirk at the prank photos. He suspected Griff would be incensed. "Deploying drones," Dancer said, as four of Guinevere's six drones left their housings. "Four active. Reserving two." Two of the four drones clung to the Guinevere's frame. The other two she sent to ride on Mother Goose. "Goose, I'm sending you repair support in the form of drones. Don't move too far away, or they won't be able to function," Sparks told Stella. He then activated his cloaking system, and moved forward around the first building blocking his path. He could see the Shiva almost straight ahead, and pinged its location for his teammates.

((dash to L12))

"My bunk. Tonight. I will wear lace. <3"

Arrish smiled at the reply and was tempted to shoot something back but with the sound of Horst's engines revving there wasn't any more time to be playing around. He pulled himself together and settled his hands on the horsts controls and pushed his mind back onto the battlefield. The enemy would be on them soon so they only had moments to get themselves into position.

While the framewerks of team apple spread out, Horst would lag behind for just a couple minutes as it prepared to get into position. Somewhere he could reach the frontline if need, and more likely, somewhere that would let him jump and protect sleepy. He mentally pictured a game from his youth, a sort of multiplayer online battle arena, or MOBA. Some hapless player was trying to get his team together under the guise of a strategy called 'protect the president' and this moment was sort of like that. If they could slow the enemy's advance enough, maybe, just maybe, Sleepy could do all the work for them.

There was a mental image of Sleeping Thunder running for president, and he quickly swiped that thought away as it turned towards the useless 'how would a framewerk wear pants' and the even more unimportant 'how would an eight-legged framewerk wear pants?' This was a serious battle here, and he needed to focus. This wasn't the time for errant thoughts or memories of old video games, I meant what was he, Griff???

The Horst's massive footsteps crushed through the digital ground as she hustled towards the nearest building. Knight to X-17 Stopping with a kneeling slide as she arrived, the whirring of her gears and heavy metal colliding together as she brought up her assault rifle to aim in the direction of the enemy. Arrish wouldn't fire just yet, not that he would be given the time to properly aim, but Arrish needed to get a look at what was going to quickly be coming his way. He breathed softly, slowly, keeping his thoughts focused and in check.

---

The aforementioned doll is currently focused on waiting for the signal to start as played Ava's orders on her head. She needs to support her while she sneaks around the their backline which means she only has one task.

Be loud, cause panic and not let her enemies think. Easy enough.

She kept an eye on her booster, not currently the time to use it yet as Argo began detaching its minigun for the upcoming battle. Then she heard the go.

Argo suddenly moved in a blinding speed, passing by Argent Wings and Cockroach in a sudden moment before making a sharp turn to head straight to the enemy using the buildings as cover for a flank. She let out a breath as she listen to heartbeat.

They will detect her easily.

Good, let them come.

She'll tear them all apart.

With a lumbering gait Sleeping Thunder began its merciless march onto the battle field. Each step rumbled the ground as its titanic bulk ambled forward. With no need for any of its guns to retort, and announce its presence to the world, Aurora pushed the Frame’s throttle to the max. It wouldn’t add much, but it would all be worth it soon enough.

[Dash: (4)15 -> (2)15]

Aurora would also set her Railgun to load an AP round, and set it to charge up to the safety. She also cycled the Particle Cannon to spool up the next level of charge. Her slow march into range wasn’t the most beneficial, but the time it took for the battle to be met did give her time to make sure her arrival would be remembered.

[Moonbreaker; Anti-Battle ship Anti-Battleship Armor Piercing. Charging to standard safety]
[Particle Cannon; Two turns of Charge]
[Artillery Mortars; Artillery Mode, HYDRA Shell Loaded]

She kept an eye on the updating sensor map next to her. The flow of tactical data from Logic Diver proving invaluable. All it would take is a few moments more, and one spot of opportunity and someone would have a bad day.

---

"Argent to Cockroach. Since you were so insistent on putting me in charge, perhaps you should be second-in-command, then," Ava replied. Unlike her usual polite or reserved tone, one can detect an underlying slight exasperation in her voice.

Then, more seriously, she continued, "Though more pragmatically, as a sniper, Cockroach is probably in the position where he could observe the battlefield in a more holistic manner from a vantage point. At least ideally, so that also makes you an ideal control tower."

Besides, even if it was just for this single training exercise, it was also common wisdom to put someone who could complement the leader’s skillset in second-in-command, and given Ava’s reserved nature, there were far worse picks than someone good with words like Bugs, from an efficiency perspective.

With a small sigh, she then transmitted a message to the whole team, “Argent to Mangoes. There isn’t enough time to discuss this further, but based on the aforementioned reason, Cockroach is designated as second-in-command.”

Then, seeing the message that Bugs had just sent to the whole team, Ava gave a reply, also directed to the whole team, “Argent to Mangoes. Cockroach’s proposal regarding Banana is accepted. As the Professor said, an unknown element isn’t something that can be trusted reliably. Any unit that perceives Banana is acting suspiciously is allowed to engage, but prioritise targets from Team Apple unless the situation calls otherwise. That is all. Time to get into position.”

As soon as Ava gave the signal, she saw Argo rushing ahead with great speed, far surpassing what a frame of that size and bulk should be able to.

Argent Wings itself was equipped with a microburst thruster for speed. That, combined with Ava’s high synchronicity with the framewerk allowed it to be manoeuvred as if she was piloting a frame of the lightest weight class, but Argo was something else, faster than even that.

She had to admit, she was impressed. It was the first time she saw a framewerk at Argent’s weight move at a faster speed.

But that was ideal. The whole plan was for Argo to serve as the frontline distraction so Argent Wings could slip past and take out targets focusing on Argo, so moving a few paces behind Argo was always what she intended to do.
Well then… she'd better make her move too.

Ava engaged the Argent Wings cloaking system, hiding it from radar. In ages long past, this technology was the one that made the infamous F-22 Raptor stealth fighter aircraft doctrine possible, granting it air superiority.

In the same way, in the age of framewerks, the doctrine was further improved with holographic capability, though the holographic program had not yet needed to be deployed.

“Argent to Argo. Dragon’s model is equipped with communication jamming, if I remember correctly,” [Academic: Framewerk Technology] “Target Dragon first, if possible. Failing that, as planned, our target is Diver,” Ava contacted Minerva through their coms system, as she pushed Argent Wings to catch up.

Seven
"...mission...accepted..."
_______

Jake took stock on what was happening...while he didn't get a straight reply from the "unknown" in the middle, the pilots response to the other pilots suggested that, much like him, he was also a "last minute" addition to the team.

He thought about that actually. There were those that, despite their service records, were wary of any of "The Number" pilots. Probably because they felt that Professor Cauldron may have given any of them some sort of "rebellion" order as a last order. But that wasn't the case. Even Seven knew that while Cauldron was right about some things...he was also wrong about some things too.

And perhaps this unknown was placed in this squad due to his presence here...even in war, we humans fight each other it seems. But perhaps that wasn't the case. With no "data" to work with, it was mere assumptions.

But back to the "test", he felt that he needed to get more "data" on this pilot. Cadet Elora would most likely need it to help formulate a stratagem or two should said pilot make decisions that could affect this fight.

Activating his "Cloaking Wings Mk.2", he decides to hold position for now. If anyone saw him suddenly disappear, it could help with mind games. Jake tried to send a private message stating he was still at his current position but with the "jamming" he heard in the vocal coms, he knew one of the other units was starting to jam communications so even he wasn't sure if Elora got his message.

But if he saw an opening, he'll head north. For now, he'll hold his position in case anyone tries any "Blitz" stratagems anywhere near his position.

Note: Activated "Cloaking Wings Mk.2". Holding current position.

Win or lose ^_^

After Logic Diver activated its cloaking system and the reply was sent, Elora had set off, aiming to reach the enemy side as quickly as possible so she could begin adding targets for her allies. On the way, she saw Rex Artus taking cover on the east side: having already taken the positioning data before, Elora didn’t need to look to know where he hid himself. During this time, she had fully updated the 2d-map into 3d, and doubled the sight ranges for team Apple, letting them spot at 20 square range: while not too impressive due to the prevalence of cover in the battlefield, she would endeavor to rectify that issue with the next phase of her plan.

However, she quickly realized her initial plan would not go as smoothly as she hoped: her scanners detected a recon drone on top of one of the buildings, as well as Argo and Argent Wings coming in hot. To not risk discovery, she decided not to fly overhead, and used the cover of the buildings as she dashed around, quickly pinging Argo’s position as she passed, though at the time she didn’t have the time to get a proper targeting lock. Finally, she reached the perfect position to set up data accumulation: the Combat Analyzer performed the Framewerk scanning subroutines, and the Hyperwave Array updated and carried the bulk of data transfer, updating their positioning in real time to fellow Apple members; she had managed to overcome the anti-radar cloaking on both Bug and Ava’s Frames, though the dots still flickered intermittently on the team’s minimap, making them difficult to follow in frantic combat.

She listened to the comms conversation, and typed in a callback sign to signal she had received the Fruitpunch command instructions from Mema-Ka. Her fingers typed away on the keyboard at a blinding speed, Elora spoke in the encrypted channel, forwarded only to members of team Apple:

“Wings and Cockroach targeting partially completed. Indirect fire at will,” she stated, her voice slightly shaky from nervousness: she had successfully linked up targeting systems for team Apple to target the two Frames even without line of sight, and through or over any obstacles as if they had wallhack installed, though due to their cloaking systems there was an accuracy penalty. “Proceeding to complete targeting, analyze for weak points and targeting range boosting,” she quickly voiced out her trained responses.

She then noticed a glow on the ugly Frame’s weaponry. “Warning, Cockroach charging weapons!” However, unbeknownst to Elora, Bug’s drone, marked as red on Cockroach’s minimap, was on the lookout specifically for her, and laid out an approximate radius for where Logic Diver could be hidden, also marked on Cockroach’s minimap as a transparent red area.

As Atty passed by and saw a glimpse of Rex Artus fleeing towards the east, she informed Mango team of having sighted a black Frame, most likely Banana, and pinged its last known location as an orange triangle marker before it disappeared beyond sight radius, finally taking cover beside a building.

Opposing Serah, both Raptor and Shiva took up positions at the frontlines, ready to intercept incoming enemy units with reaction shots. However, thanks to the distance and the cover, Atty was able to avoid enemy fire as she saw the two units coming in. Likewise, both Raptor and Shiva managed to spot a smaller red Frame peeking from behind the corner. In addition, Shiva managed to get a positive reading on Mother Goose, the behemoth-like Frame stomping in like a force of nature.

Electric Dragonfly moved up with the frontliners, and activated its devastating jamming system, covering most of the battlefield in an electromagnetic pulse-like wave that disabled communications for Serah: Atty’s output only produced audible static, and the screen showed “WARNING: COMMUNICATION ERROR” in bright red text over her written communication display. For the rest of Mango, it looked like Atty had shut off communications, having turned radio silent. Of course, team Apple avoided the same fate due to the Hyperwave Relay circumventing the affected frequencies.

Sparks on the opposing front had activated its repair drones, marked on his minimap as green markers, and spread most of them between Guinevere and Mother Goose, attaching themselves to the back armor plating with dextrous magnetic claws, ready to start performing emergency repairs.

Horst slid into position, aiming its weaponry down the sights between the megabuildings, ready to start shooting. On his way, Arrish passed by Jake and his Angel Zero, who activated its cloaking system: as the camouflage field surrounded him, the Frame automatically crouched down to one knee and shut off all redundant systems, putting its engine in silent running mode: In such a state, with no movement allowing even any shimmer to be spotted, the Frame had achieved complete protection from detection. Now, he was ready to ambush anyone foolish enough to try and rush Sleeping Thunder.

With the Frames on all three sides moving into the frontlines, into flanking positions or even out of the way, the moment of clashing was but mere nanoseconds in:

Serah clicked her tongue as she saw both Shiva and Raptor dash forwards on the battlefield, losing sight of Raptor but just barely managing to make out Shiva still from between the buildings. If she moved forward from this position she'd almost certainly be spotted by those two... and that's not a fight Serah can win, as much as she wanted to square off against Griff right now. She'll need to isolate him first, somehow...

'...No, wait! Think about your role, Serah!' she chastised herself. Taking a deep breath, Serah reached up to her ear to activate her voice communications to try and relay their positions. Just as she was about to, though, ear-bleeding static came through the channel and her monitor flashed red. 'This is bad...' she thought to herself, realising she'd been jammed. Rhylaen and Electric Dragonfly must be somewhere close by, but Serah hadn't seen sight of either of them. Several buildings surrounded Atty, so dragonfly could've been hiding behind any one of them. If she moved forward now, its entirely possible she'd be pincer'd by a majority of team Apple...

Then with a smirk, she asked her frame: "What do you think we should do, Atty...? Run away?"

His core glowed hot, his body was on fire. Its like the adrenaline that coursed through Serah's veins was also flowing through Atty. And, because of that, she knew he'd reached the same answer she had.

"...I thought so! I want to fight, too!"

Serah and Atty dashed out of their cover, speeding along the battlefield and keeping their eyes on where they saw Shiva and Raptor. If both of them were on standby for enemy units, then she'd just draw the fire to herself. Atty swung its arm, bringing both barrier shields up inbetween it and the other two frames to soak any shots that Atty couldn't dodge out of the way of in time. Then, after coming face to face with Shiva(P14), Serah briefly paused in her tracks and pointed the long end of Atty's blade straight at Griff.

"This is payback for earlier, you jerk!" she'd taunt him, even though the message itself was unlikely to come through. The blade's edge glowing hot, she dragged it across the floor and swung upwards, sending a wave of plasma energy barreling straight at Griff. It was obvious, it was loud, it was very telegraphed- and it was all exactly as Serah wanted it to be. Her team was behind her, she knew this much, so the best thing she could do right now was bring the enemy straight to them. After goading Griff, Serah knew her time was limited- she and Atty flew backwards as far as they could go, hoping to outrun Shiva and Griff and regroup with her team.

(Attack > use remaining move to go to M14)

"Pilot on third team. Name. Rank. Framewerk ID. What is your given primary objective in this battle", ???? asked in a rather emotionless voice.

@DarkRecon

Another question asked to him over the comms, and yet as Lucius moved to respond the comms began to light up all over again. Chatter and texts running back and forth so rapidly it took his attention off just to try to process it in a hurry. Seemed enough like some peculiar team banter back and forth in the end, though as things almost seemed to slow for a second-

???? 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."

Hmm. His comms system was reporting that he'd been connected to the Team Apple channel, which was useful at least if they wanted secretive communications. Had Mema-ka organized this? Though soon afterwards, a message pinged into his messages and he opened it up to read in a hurry. However, it seemed to be from someone who was rather different than the more threatening message of Mema-ka at least, but-...eh? So they wanted him to 'choose whose side you will fight from the beginning', and-...ah, that was true. They were all comrades in arms for this, that was true, but even then there was a need to be able to face deceit right? Thoughy, well, had he also rushed to think of a plan here at the start, not thinking much of the potential consequences?

...The message was naive enough even to his eyes, or at least that was his first impression, and yet at the same time it made him take an uncertain and genuine pause all the same. He couldn't find the words for a moment to respond with, though his thoughts were suddenly cut off by a general comms announcement from an already-familiar-feeling cranky voice.

"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!"

...The old man had enough bravery to be himself in all of this, it seemed, so in that vein he could respect it. Albeit the comms coughing was almost like the ancient phrase of 'nails on a chalk board'...whatever a chalk board was at least. Yet he'd prepared to make a run to a new position of safety, and that is what he'd do reflexively as his drones deployed around him and kept below the 'firing line' there'd perhaps be above the tops of the simulated buildings. They'd keep around him and coordinate defense for him, but for now he'd make a dead dash to the east with the aim of finding cover. In that sense, he was keeping to his orignial plan for now and falling back a bit on what they'd drilled and trained him to do back home.

It was then that the politician-like voice rang again over his comms from the side of Team Mango.

"Keeping it short.

Not gonna threaten you. Not the point. We'll all eat together tomorrow.

Not gonna say join us. Merely stay out of the way. Strat would be tangled with a new unknown anyway.

If you feel like it, I'll use my money and connections to grant you boons. So this is a bounty list.

Sleeping Thunder: Worth 3 Favours.
Raptor, Logic Diver, Dragonfly: Worth 2 Favours.
Everyone else: 1 Favour.

Accept or decline at leisure. Don't come near our lines unless you at least take someone down and prove you've chosen our side. We will be forced to shoot and void the deal.

Good Luck."

Ah. Ok this was all going down faster than he'd thought it would, but his breaths would fall into a form of practiced breathing exersize as training began to kick in. Keep a cool head. Level it out. Adapt to the suprises, and get some responses out before things got too heated perhaps. He did need to respond to the offered deal at least though, so-

@AtomicNut

'Hmm, a bounty system? An intersting proposition to digest, especially with the promised favors, but between you and someone else bringing it up I believe you're right that we'll all eat together and such as it is. So...I'll say that I'll make my choices in this sim battle clear via my actions, out of respect for both sides, and for now I'll give you all some space before making any decisive actions. When I do act either way, it'll be a fun surprise to see what happens that way!

After all, simply sitting by and doing nothing is the more boring if practical option in a situation like this, wouldn't you agree? Will be intersting to se you all in person after this! ;)

Jokes aside, though, good luck to you as well.'

Heh. A small smile came to the pilot's face as the Rex Artus continued its dash toward the mid-eastern-edge building he had selected as a good spot for cover. Meanwhile, he would try to think up a message the unknown messager from Team Apple (Elora) back as well. Well, as quickly as he could at the very least. Not that he wasn't interrupted along the way by yet another message and then some chatter over the Team Apple comms he'd been pulled into.

'Feeling is mutual. We acknowledge your plan of action, Lucius, proceed ahead and locate team Mango. Upon receiving codeword: Fruitpunch, fire at will upon team Mango. The high command is watching. Dedicate yourself to a cause and stick with it. Doubt is the foundation of defeat.'

"The 'Obscure' is to be regarded as a sleeper agent, trigger it by using codename Fruitpunch once the lines collide. If the 'Obscure' remains unwilling to act the part it has offered. Regard it as hostile and shoot it down. Mema-Ka over."

Vicious, much like his original plan it seemed. Curious. Most of Team Apple seemed to be quiet and focused on things, or being a bit threatening of course, and only the mystery messager had actually taken the time to at least be open with him about things in a less threatening manner. Perhaps this Mema-ka was a more focused and disciplined sort, the like to try to take some lead and deal with matters that could threaten his allies. Noted, for now of course. Would be interesting to talk to him later as well perhaps. Though he was scrolling back as his mech ran for good cover, looking at comms chatter records and-...pfft.

Ok, he had to comment on this with a private message (@Dezuel). He had to, if nothing else to make himself lighten up a bit more.

'Beep boop. Beep boop bop. I am totally a robot. :P'

Griff would get a simple private message from the Rex Artus...partly out of Lucius finding it funny to send such a message to him out of the blue, partly due to what he'd found in the comms chatter records. But, for now, back to his analyses thus far on the teams.

So the one who offered him bounties was being nice, but it was bascially to offer a deal and tell him to get out of the way. A nicer way of putting it, reminded him in tone of a politician's writing, and yet his gut told him there was something more to the one from Mango whoo had messaged him in that case. Would be good to put a face to the name. Likewise the friendlier voice was certainly a welcome one before this, more chipper and the like, that had talked to him from Team Mango prior as well.

Though as for making a call to Elora (@Ariamis) over private comms-

"Mema-ka seems a bit vicious there, haha. Ah, but I suppose I walked into that with what I offered.

Still, while I don't know your name yet I do appreciate your honesty and openess about things with me despite things. So I'll give you something to work with here, since you and Mango have made it clear we're still supposed to be teammates at the end of the day after this is said and done. To do that we need trust indeed, though we may face deception out there in the field as well later on.

So I sent Mango back a message making it clear I'd speak for what side I choose with my actions. Less deceptive, but I figure let's have a little fun with this. Fun? Heh. Sorry, this place and everyone here are all still so new to me as it is. But with the jamming in place blocking me from Mango's comms I can't say more to them if you wish for me to be clearer."

His tone was a touch apologetic at the end, but even so he was going to take his own gamble on this other voice. Something in him...wanted to, for whatever reason, and he had The Rex Artus kept crouched, though he would move his mech around while still crouched behind the mech-hiding building cover into the space of P-27 so he could take the more careful glance around the side of the building to see what was going on. Meanwhile, he sent one of his drones to R-25, to have it hover and maintain a vigilance in case soeone tried to come around to attack his rear.

Meanwhile, the other three drones would be kept close to him and behind building cover, being set and ready to strike in defense or be sent out on offense as needed.

"...But I'll respond specifically to your call to attack or not. Further, I'm moving into position P-27, and placing an Attack Drone to keep watch on my rear at R-25 while I have three others kept by me to be ready to attack or defend on a dime.

Call it...a sign of open trust being made in return for your own. Or perhaps call it my own naivete, haha! But the name's Lucius, and I hope to learn yours and the others' later after this when I can."

This was going to be an interesting first day, that much was for certain.

-Misclick, please ignore-

There was no reason for Aurora to let off the gas. The more information flooded in the clearer the picture became, Apple was far too spread out. And the only thing she could do was attempt to make it to the front faster.

[Dash: (2)15 -> (Z)15]

“Logic Diver. You are too deep. Pull back.” Aurora would order as she once again cycled the Particle Cannon to spool up another level of charge. It would prove to be a mighty strike when she finally got into range to make use of it.

But it felt a bit like her current frustrations as well. Just building and building, looking for a release. Since she had told Elora not to do this, but it was something to take note of for the future she supposed. Though her frustration wasn’t sole due to Logic Diver, her extreme distance away from the battle was another source. Though if it was more manipulation by the Professor, or just poor planning on her own part was tough to say at the moment.

Still. There was more preparation she could do with Logic Diver’s contributions. The greatly expanded sensor range did allow her to begin locking on to priority heat signatures. Something she was quick to do with her missile pods. And hey, may be the warnings would serve as a distraction in their own right.

Though she doubted that Atty or Argo would change tactics. Guenevere and Cockroach might.

“Angel, Horst. Feel free to continue Advancing. Rank Romeo is likely to be our front line, so stay within two ranks of there. Otherwise engage at will” She would continue to advise and order the rest of her Team. Seeing as she was unable to directly participate anytime soon. “Raptor, Harassment of Mango’s eastern squad would be appreciated. Try to pull some of the heat from Logic to give them an easier retreat window.”

"Dragonfly, I'm reading Atty not far from your location. Be ready to assist Shiva if they close in, otherwise keep on your guard that distance isn't going to mean much to them."

She ran her hand across the top of one of the dashboards absently as she gave out her orders and observations. Almost as if she was trying to soothe Sleeping Thunder as they lumbered towards the fight. ‘Soon, it’ll be soon. just a bit longer.’

[Dragon Wing Missile Launchers; Attempting to Lock on to Cockroach, Atty, Guenevere, and Argo]
[Moonbreaker; Anti-Battle ship Anti-Battleship Armor Piercing. Charged to standard safety.]
[Particle Cannon; Three turns of Charge]
[Artillery Mortars; Artillery Mode, HYDRA Shell Loaded]

---

Ava noticed that Atty had seemingly gone radio silent. However, knowing the existence of Electric Dragon's signal jamming, it was likely that Atty had gone into its radius.

"Argent to Cockroach. Do you have a clear visual of Atty? It seems she has entered the radius of Dragon's jamming. But if the plan is followed, she should be employing some guerrilla tactics right about now. As planned, make use of Atty's skirmishes to snipe opposing frames if you see the chance. Of course, Thunder remains your priority target." @AtomicNut

Still, as she thought, Electric Dragon's jamming is a problem. Ava might not know exactly the specific jamming technology used by Electric Dragon; however, given her in-depth knowledge of Framewerk Technology [Academic], she could think of several possibilities of what would be installed on a framewerk such as Electric Dragon. It being such a lightweight model limits its options considerably. From there, by recalling the possible radius of those jamming technologies and Atty's last relayed location, Ava was able to extrapolate a rough approximation of Electric Dragon's technology in her head, with the assumption that Atty's last relayed location before she went radio silent was the 'edge' of the radius.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Electric Dragon was on the opposite side of the field from where she and Minerva were. Considering that their secondary target, Logic Diver, had seemingly approached them based on Cockroach's drone, it would be inefficient for the two of them to head to the other side before neutralising Logic Diver.

Electric Dragon's jamming depended on Logic Diver's relay not being a double-edged sword. Meaning, if Logic Diver went down, they would have no choice but to shut down their jamming, because if both teams were unable to communicate, then the advantages provided by jamming was gone.

"Argent to Goose, Gwen, and Squid. Atty has entered Dragon's jamming range. Move in to support Atty. I'm also sending you an approximate location of Dragon. Neutralise if possible." @AtomicNut@Dezuel@shylarah

Finally, looking at the approximate location of Logic Diver provided by Cockroach's drone, Ava contacted Minerva.

"Argo, we'll move to hunt down Diver in the approximate location provided by Cockroach. I'll leave the bottom area to you. I'll take the upper area. Contact when target is found."@Digmata

Ava then turned Argent Wings northward before canvassing the area. The moment she found Logic Diver, and it was in range, she would fire using Marker Lights, first in Marker Mode and then in Combat Mode. With the automated targeting system installed on Argent Wings, it should be possible to react quickly enough to fire twice.

@Randomguy@Digmata

Astolfo looked at the diverse symbols that his screen fluctuated. That last response from team Banana...it spooky of cheekiness, as if a cat playing with someone. There was a slight chance that this was his nature, but on the other hand, he could not shake his paranoid feeling that Banana's heart had been won and he was just smugly replying with condescendence. Oh well, no plan survives contact with the enemy. Then the chat came alive once again, and the mature voice of Ava rang on his ears. Girl was shaping up quite nicely, it seemed.

"Roger that, Wings. Banana's being a little cheeky on his reply so he's likely to try something to brag in the mess hall." He added. "I can't see Atty, this frame isn't as speedy as hers. It'll likely take me a while to reach her as it is." He said somberly. "But...at the very least, I can comply with the orders of using the skirmish to snipe frames. In fact there's one here right now that I can bare my fangs now. I hope you don't mind a parting shot as courtesy to you two ladies..."

His frame stood up, as he quickly began typing on his frame. [Machine Mind] "Overriding safety Protocols on the Silverfish, turning it into a high impact payload against the ground, brace for shockwave pulse from O24. Should be a pretty loud Sonar to reveal our little guest. I'm not as good as a hacker as Sparks, but If I can get Elora's relay I guarantee there'll be biblical plagues on Apple's comms."

Roach's engines roared, as he hefted his gun and strafed eastwards, getting ready a reaction shot should the pulse reveal anything that wasn't a teammate.

[Crash Silverfish Drone on O24, use shockwave to locate Logic Diver]
[Move to J24, ready Reaction Shot for Logic Diver or Rex Artus/ Keep charging if negative.]

---

@shylarah
"Unit 456 will take care of Guinevere's babies." Droned Stella back to Sparks as she made Goose to delicatedly shuffle the climbing repair drones on the safest part of her frame, the underside of the Bastion. Stella frowned upon seeing Atty's disconnection error. Cutie Patootie was in danger. And that was unacceptable. Mother Goose roared to life once again as it plowed forward, the Bastion being held menancingly.

"Engaging Missiles. Engaging Bastion. Battle protocol online."

[Move to M15, Deploy Bastion, Missiles ready to react to opponents in medium range.]

---

Minerva smiled as her machine began to pick up speed, crossing the battlefield at an unprecedented pace as she took note of her command. A change in targets and a location. Minerva is confident that she alone is enough to eliminate the threat.

”Understood.” Minerva spoke as she piloted her Framewerk to move left, a straight line is enough to cover her sector and with her gatling gun primed she is confident that she will land enough hits against the Logic Driver, perhaps enough to immediately take her out.

She better not though, it would be pretty disappointing if she got herself killed so early in the battle it won't even be a warmup for her then she would be wondering how she even got here.

Mema -Ka

"Understood!" He replied swiftly to Aurora, then quickly gave a command himself to Griff in his Shiva.

"Shiva! Relocate to U-11, Do not engage!" Mema-Ka relayed hastily as the Shiva was being fired upon, Mema-Ka then moved his raptor towards position [U-19]   ,  deploying his attack drones and attaching them to his framework like turrets. Soon after he prepared a [Reaction shot] with his [Marker Light] and a [Free Reaction shot] with his [Attack drones] .

Griff

He saw the enemy. Atty. He also saw the Mother Goose. He wanted to attack it, he wanted to chase after Atty and fight. How it had pointed at his metal baby, that was the Shiva. A clear challenge, was it calling him a coward? It annoyed him, but hearing Mema-Ka's voice over the comms and recalling there was a not so sucky plan, he suspected breaking formation would make the others upset. Besides he had to watch over and support his comerades. Even in a virtual fight, he wasn't going to let anyone of them die. He couldn't let himself fail again. So for now he wouldn't charge in. Hopefully he could soon. He wanted to. He needed to find and fight Minerva. He wanted to defeat her. So his desire to yell back at the 'rookie' giving him orders was temporary put on hold.

[Indomitable Will] to resist taunt.

Griff grit his teeth as the plasma wave attack came towards him, the Shiva moved it's secondary set of arms in front of itself, forming an 'X' before attempting to [Parry] the plasma wave using his [Shining Fingers] . His [Slag cannon] and his [Marker Light] would try to get shots off right after, would they have line of sight. Regardless the Shiva moved backwards afterwards and then going fully towards it's left, moving into position [U-11] , right past the smaller Dragonfly.

Griff gave the smaller frame a scoff from inside his red four-armed machine.

Once in position Griff took a moment to peek around the corner of the building, readying his [Slag cannon ] with a [Free reaction shot]

Just then he noticed the little message on his display from the team banana pilot.

'I knew it! It's a damn bot! It even know how to make stupid smileys. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on you again and if you fool me a third time I will kick your ass!' He nodded to himself, it must have been a plot by that old geezer Lorenzo. What a sneaky old guy. Where were his warrior pride?

Griff didn't understand it.

Zel-Ghin

"Hah?" He said aloud to himself, tilting his head on hearing Ava's voice. He didn't reply back over the comms.

There was nothing that he felt he could add, he was going to spearhead into team Apple's zone, that would likely give the rest of his team enough time to relocate and do whatever they were doing. He had played enough games to know a single cavalry unit could wreak havoc and force the defenders to make in the moment decisions. No doubt would he be able to attract the attention of a couple of them.

He activated his [Stargazer system] in redirection mode, and moved out from cover, spotting Horst after a little bit and he activated his comms.

"Enemy sighted... Exterminating Horst at-" There were static over the comms. The teal haired young man gave out a low 'Tch.'. Then moved further ahead towards position [Q-17] . Still charging his [Particle cannon]  (Turn 2 charge).

'Oh well. I wouldn't want them to take my prey anyways... time to hunt you... Horstie~ An apple to slay keeps the reaper coming your way!' The younger twin's smile widened, his eyes shimmering with anticipation. Hunting down pilots of the Galactic Federation. Just like the old simulations. But this felt more real and thrilling. His genes were screaming at him to hunt, to fight and destroy. He could feel it in his very core. He however didn't bear resentment towards the Galactic Federation, they were after all not the ones which had harmed him and his brother, but they were still humans. Humans which were endless with their desires, their greed and wants. Were he human himself? He didn't even know. Did it matter?

Having been labeled a tool, a monster or a prototype by his creators, and not knowing what manner of sins had been done in his own creation. He simply decided that the best thing to do were to not care about it, he was alive and wanted to enjoy it, no matter what anyone else would say. His brother wasn't the type to focus on the present or short term feelings of joy or enjoyment, he was always gazing ahead or back. Or caught inside some melody.

In the end of it all, he would let his brother figure it all out, no matter what path would be taken, he would follow him. He was just content with being alive. The Cruxi meant nothing to him, politics meant nothing, his needs were more primal. He wanted food, drink, videogames and girls. What his brother wanted however was something that didn't yet exist in this world, something out there, slightly beyond reach.

He wanted to help his older brother to reach it. He only hoped that his framewerk Squid were up to the task.

This simulation were just another game, he wanted to perform well like anyone else, if he couldn't, had his creators failed in their quest to play god? He felt like he had already won regardless of the result.

"Come out little kittycat~ Kss~kss~kss." He made the kind of beckoning noises one would do to attract actual cats, snickering to himself as he waited to see what the Horst would do, not knowing the Angel Zero were right next to it but hidden.

Rhylaen knew she wasn't covering much of the battlefield with her jammers yet, so she moved right then forward, noting Atty's position ahead of her and the bastion deployed -- probably from Mother Goose. She noted the location of both on the map for her allies as she slipped forward into cover. Peeking out, she saw the Squid -- far too close for comfort. She looked at her map -- the Shiva and Raptor were just barely out of range of a burst attack. That just left the Horst to worry about.

"Shiva, Raptor, Horst -- I pulse jammers, blind Squid. Watch out." She triggered the pulse, following it up immediately with a shot from her Marker Light in marking mode, to make the blinded frame easier to target.

((Moving to U15 then up to T15, attacking with a sensor-blinding burst of radius 4 and marker light in marking mode. If she has to step out of cover for a moment to shoot, she will, moving to T16 and then back to T15))

---

Sparks couldn't tell where most of Team Apple was. He was out of contact with more than one member of his own team, although he himself wasn't yet in Dragonfly's jamming field. Keeping his cloaking active, he moved the Guinevere forward to be right behind the building in front of him. He'd hoped to have range on one of his opponents by now, but they all seemed to be keeping their distance. "Dancer, spin up Epsilon and put it atop the building in front of us. I want a view of what's beyond cover."

"Roger that."

((Moving forward one to M12, putting drone 5 of 6 in O12 atop the building))

Horst was surprised to see Zel's framewerk walk right up into sight and in range. His first instinct was to bring up his heavy assault gun and take careful aim, but before he could make the shot Rhylaen's little dragonfly had popped up and blinded the little squidly creep. He took aim again, making note of the Dragonfly's Marker "Thank you, RyRy" She just made his life a lot easier, and he wouldn't have to waste time making the perfect shot. He unleashed APFSDS-A shells into the heavy framewerk while making an advance forward into cover.

"This is Horst to Sleepy, advancing now." Knight to X-20

It was right around this time that a little game Arrish had been playing outside the theater of battle had been about to pay off. It took a little Networking to find the right guy to do it. His name was Gary Goodman; One of the laboratory tech rats that had the right skills to pull off this stunt and a whole track of guilt and shame to do it despite the risks. Apparently, he got entangled with the wrong girl and owed a crime boss a whole lot of money for 'accidentally' selling some precarious photos of the mobster's precious daughter to the wrong person. Arrish had even seen the photos of the woman, and didn't really think Scyllian's were all that much to look at but didn't deny that they would have made Gary a rich man... if only it wasn't the daughter of someone rich and powerful.

But hey, Money speaks loud, and Gary was just desperate enough to take his chance despite the real risk to his career. I mean, turning Buggati's framework hot pink? There was barely any advantage to be had, but Arrish wanted to prove a point... not to Buggati, fuck that guy. He wanted to make a point to Lorenzo who would no doubt notice the change quickly, if not exactly when it happened.

Arrish would play the game. He wouldn't just put his body in the way of danger, but he would bite, cheat and swindle his way to killing those damn Cruxi until there was nothing left. He might not have been as degenerate as someone like bug, but they shared the same Indomitable Will and would do anything to reach for the top. If Arrish could change the game, even a little, by using his family's money and his network of informants, companions and clientele, then he would do it. If Lorenzo couldn't get that much out of turning the Cockroach pink, then the man wasn't the person Arrish thought he was, and he had been wasting his time.

He pulled his thoughts back into the present. He had gotten enough of a view to see what had happened to Griff. If the warrior went flying off the handle and began chasing Atty everywhere that would be a problem. "Hey Goldilocks, keep your eyes on the prize. Remember the plan and ask yourself, 'Where is Argent Wing? Where is Argos?' They're scheming something, be ready."

Seven

_______

Jake heard Aurora's order and, at the moment, was the most reasonable one though he had no intention to abandon Sleeping Thunder to possible flankers. He'd stay somewhere close at the very least since a unit with Sleeping Thunder's arsenal was going to be needed for a push into enemy territory as well as matching other enemy units with similar arsenals.

Then, Cadet Horst comments brought up the approach of Framewerk Squid. Even more so, one of the Apple squad members had Marked it since even Jake saw it clear as day.

"...Angel Zero to Aurora and Horst. Engaging Squid then moving to cover Y18. Be advised: Visual Cloak will be down temporary."

Arming the Armor-Piercing Fin-Stabilized Discarding Sabot of the Heavy Assault Gun, Jake fired then, regardless if the attack hit or missed, moved to his reported position behind the nearby building. Of course, the Visual Cloak was temporary disabled but the building should provide enough cover for him to re-activate that part of the Cloaking Wings Mk.2 system but for now, framewerk Squid had his attention since it posed a threat to both Horst and Aurora.

Serah taunted her opponents on team Apple, goading them to chase after Atty, and launched out a plasma wave that cut through the air like a green blade of wind itself. The deadly projectile careened straight towards Shiva, only for it to be intercepted in spectacular fashion: Griff, who had endured the taunt by sheer will alone, was prepared. With glowing palms, Shiva performed a cross chop like a martial art master, deflecting the energy projectile with a precise motion right at the middle of the burning arc.

That was when Griff went for a counterattack: first: he shot his Markerlight, which was blocked by one of Atty’s protective wings, the Combat mode bullets cracking the wing. However, as Serah was about to escape, she realized that Shiva followed up with a Slag Cannon shot, destroying the broken wing.

That was when Serah, who spotted Sleeping Thunder crawling in the distance, that she had a [Clairvoyance] vision, but not one from the future, rather: it was of a woman that Serah had a faint feeling of familiarity, as if in another life she had known her. Like Aurora, she also piloted a Frame with an arachnid body, though a simpler one with a single main weapon. She saw the strange Frame’s Slag Cannon, and how it had a peculiar trait to it as it fired: that it would perform a second shot upon connecting with the first one.

Back in the present and armed with this knowledge, Serah let instinct take over, and successfully dodged the second Slag Cannon shot that came after the first, before she finally reached the safety of Mother Goose and her Bastion. Shiva then reloaded the Slag Cannon while taking position, and vigilantly prepared for enemies to arrive within firing range at the flank, a [Supporter] ever watchful.

Lucius, having reached the safety of cover, took a defensive position with Rex Artus, and deployed his X-Type Variant 2 Attack Drones: three to guard him while concealed with cover, and one around the corner, ready to intercept any foes. He peered around the corner, and was witness to an incredible sight: the Cockroach, in the blink of an eye, had turned a pastel pink in color.

Elora, who had prepared for deeper data aggregation of the enemy Frames around at K23, was also stunned by the change, and momentarily forgot to collect data, having also missed Aurora's order to retreat.
“W-What, how did it turn pink? Is the VR buggy?” She wondered with a tilt of her head and a concerned look, and then glanced at Argent Wings, blinking.
“Wait, it’s not advancing. Rather, it looks like it’s…Sweeping for me!”

With panic rising up, Logic Diver began fleeing south, but it was already too late: Elora glanced at the rear cameras, and her eyes opened wide as she saw Bug’s Silverfish, in a brilliant move, nosedive from the top of the building, exploding like a silver shooting star: in the ensuing shockwave caused by the drone unleashing a great pulse, she was revealed, and all hell broke loose on the poor girl, as she was beset upon by Framewerks, like a pack of wild dogs.

First, Argent Wings delivered a double barrage of Markerlight rounds, the harmless tracking rounds having successfully struck the egg-shaped Frame’s armor on surprise, improving team Mango’s accuracy on the Light Framewerk. Elora managed to twist and graze the second round of shots knowing their trajectory. But then came the heavy blow, Cockroach’s Particle Cannon, at a devastating three-round charge, blasted through the battlefield like a horizontal pillar of luminescent light.

Elora’s [Clairvoyance] kicked in, and she sent Logic Diver in a risky barrel roll in an attempt to dodge the foreseen attack: however, even with prediction on her side, she could not fully dodge an attack that potent at such range and assisted by Markerlights. As a result, Logic Diver was hit in the legs that were obliterated, causing the egg to crash hard and tumble a fair distance as her movement was reduced to a mere 1, passing by the building Rex Artus and his drones used for cover.

“Mayday! Critical damage sustained!” Elora screamed into the comms, as tears drifted down her cheeks from the pain she felt: possessing an unnaturally high aptitude for synchronization with Logic Diver, she felt a great scorching heat on her legs, and for a moment dreaded that she had been paralyzed. Fortunately, it seemed she still had motor function over them, but it mattered little, as then the third Frame would swoop in: while having initially flown off in a completely different direction, Argo’s speed was such that it had already turned back, its magnificent minigun revving up to deliver a hail of bullets on Logic Diver. The egg clanged and dented rapidly, and some bullets even managed to pierce the Medium-armored Frame in the joints and weaker plating, causing major damage to her systems: Logic Diver lost its ability to perform data collection with the Combat Analyzer, and the Hyperwave Array was now on the fritz as half the words in Apple communications started to be overcome by Electric Dragon’s jamming-induced static. If Logic Diver were to fall, so would all communications in the Tevranian’s domain of influence.

“I* s**ry! I m*ss*d u*!” She screamed again through the broken comms to units near Rhylaen, though it didn’t take a genius to figure out what she was saying. Logic Diver, now lying on its back, prepared for a last stand as Elora grit her teeth, seeing Argo and Argent Wings speeding closer. Diver lifted the Automatic Battle Rifle delivering crossfire on Argo, the high-volume rounds delivering minor damage to the latter’s Medium armor, banging it up, though to a lesser extent than the poor intelligence unit. More importantly, she hoped the shooting would slow Minerva, and buy her even a second of time for reinforcements to arrive and save her…Though she had a feeling this would be the end, as she saw an unknown yet scary-looking attack drone aiming its weapon at her from the side.

Meanwhile, the combat heated up towards the center of the battlefield, as Electric Dragonfly bravely flew into the fray, and like a corona of dazzling light blinded Zel-Ghin, the disorienting attack unable to be redirected by the Stargazer. Still, from years of combat experience at the labs with his twin brother and his grit, he had successfully sustained a splitting Stargazer field that separated the Markerlight rounds away, managing to defend himself against being marked. However, he failed to redirect the shots that came afterwards from Horst, his Heavy Assault Gun delivering major damage with the APFSDS-A rounds while Zel was unable to fully defend himself. As a result, The Squid’s right forelimb was blown off as shots managed to pierce the heavy armor and separate it from the joint. As a result, speed was now reduced by 2 from damage. The Stargazer was also hit, now only working at half effectiveness. While he was reeling from the flash, he also incurred lesser attacks: they were Attack Drone laser cannon shots from a drone peeking around the corner, and he recognized the sound it made…it was from his own brother and his Raptor Frame. While a single attack drone wasn’t too threatening on its own, it nonetheless delivered minor damage, scorching the Squid’s armor and causing plating to melt at parts: at this rate, it would turn into copper calamari with the beating it took from the pack of Apple Frames. However, Raptor was unable to secure a proper firing line to get reaction shots in, the right side proving advantageous in cover for the Mango hunter squad.

Finally, with a surprise attack, Angel Zero uncloaked and delivered a deadly offense, also utilizing the potency of a Heavy Assault Gun to deliver armor-penetrating shots. These shots connected towards the Squid’s center and shoulders, taking out one of his Dual Acid Cannons with a shot right through the barrel as well as a shot nearly managing to reach the cockpit’s walls itself, having left a visible dent that was close to piercing into the enclosed space itself. Angel then took cover, preparing to cloak.

Sleeping Thunder and Mother Goose made their marches towards an inevitable clash, the former locking on to Mango Frames in preparation for an Itano Circus, while Goose brought out a Great Wall to repel all unwanted shots. Guinevere placed a drone on the top of the building to survey the battlefield. Unfortunately, due to Electric Dragonfly’s jamming, the camera feed was white noise, and the audio mere static.
Still, the manipulation unit was still untargeted, and could make a decisive move as the battle grew closer.

By this point Lorenzo had noticed the color cheat that was activated, and frowned angrily.
“That punk…He thinks he can play around just because it’s virtual, huh?” He mumbled, while Ritsu simply shook her head in disbelief. “Childish display. I honestly expected better from Cadet Duval.” “I suppose he did make a point,” Lorenzo then muttered, and Ritsu’s expression shifted to inquiry. “Executive Officer, what do you mean by that statement?”
“He’s proven he can cheat the system, but he only did a mere prank. I suppose it takes some balls to go that far to prove it. Not that I will overlook such a blatant display of buffoonery though.”
Ritsu smiled devilishly. “I suppose it was bold…But very stupid.” She pointed towards the nearby guards. “Bring me the technician responsible: we’ll have a talk. A long one.”