"Good work, Dancer. Now...time to have some fun. Let's go after Raptor, shall we?" Between the two of them, Sparks and Dancer shut down the Horst's comms and locked Arrish out of the controls in the cockpit, then moved the Horst next to Raptor, pulling out the multiform rod in spear configuration and stabbing at Mema-Ka's frame. As they did, Sparks moved the Guinevere up and back, to hide once more behind the nearby building. "Sorry about this, Arrish." Sparks knew that the other pilot couldn't hear him, but he apologized all the same.

((Moving Horst to R23 and attacking Raptor; Guinevere moving to M19))

Mema-Ka

The twin explosions from the south, the Argent surviving and heading east, to the west there was something he could only label as an abomination. A defiling of the dead.

"Be brave, Elora."

'Every melody eventually end... lets make the final note a strong one.' Mema-Ka thought as he dropped the Logic on the ground and then leapt up into the air, using it's inbetween henshin transformation to assume the shape of a jet fighter with legs before flying off at high speed towards the animated Squid frame which was mixed with the Cockroach.

The raptor would begin to assume evasive manuevers as it set it's target on the hybridized frame, using it's [Leaper] to try perform a stomping attack, while moving to [Q-17], and aiming it's [Rocket Anchor] to the Cockroach part of the frame to try prevent it from escaping.

'In order to win, you must be willing to sacrifice everything… to be nothing, nothing is more fitting for the epitaph of this story.'

The green haired man gave a soft smirk, then set his [Attack Drones] to self detonate, opening his cockpit and activating his jetpack to exit his framewerk before the explosion, taking aim with his side-arm [Maser] towards the Cockroach cockpit [Free reaction shot: Maser]. Mema-Ka would give a salute with his free hand towards the hybrid frame.

Bug looked at his frame, then at the grossly misshapen shape that he was still. And yet he still endured. He looked at the battlefield, evaluating his next move. He had never been so tired in a simulation. And elated in equal manner. It was then, that a thing was speeding towards him. A line snagged him.

If your opponent is wrathful, provoke them. Bug smirked, elated. A banged up frame holding together for one of the remaining heavy hitters? What kind of stupid trade off.

"Fine. Let's play." He said, letting a maniacal laughter in the comms, as the doom approached, his [Indomitable Will] struggling to keep him alive. He readied himself. He didn't run away from it, but instead run towards the incoming Raptor. He fired up his hacking suit.[Metal Mind- All cockpit exits annulled, forceful Kattai Catastrophe] He pressed, to ruin and further compress both frames and pilots.

His gallantry was admirable, but it was better if he was taken out with him elegantly than just cowardly exiting at the last moment, would it? Bug would not have none of that!
@Dezuel

Arrish Duval

---

"Stand up and walk. Keep moving forward. You've got two good legs. So get up and use them."

---

"Mema-ka, I've been hacked. Mema please, take this drone off of me. Arrish repeated again and again over his stolen communications while all he could do was watch his dear Horst move out from under his control and stomp its way towards his allies. The movements were being fought back, but Arrish was no confident hacker and with every stolen step and jilted movement he could only watch in horror as he became the very enemy of his allies.

"Please, Memaka, all you have to do is shoot it.... please don't let it end like this... please I'm relying on you."
"I can't... I know you can't hear me but I'm begging you, it isn't over yet, we can still win we can still"

He clattered over his controls and Arrish's emotions were finally getting the better of himself. Could one cry tears of frustration in a virtual simulation? He had seen hackers out on the field do works of great power, he knew their strength but never before had he been on the opposite side of one. The enemies he faced were just something to be destoryed.. but now he knew. That was when Mema-ka finally began to move.

"Yes! Yes! You see don't you! You hear me Mema-ka, don't you? What— no what are you doing, Mema? Mema! MEMAKAAAA!!!"

He could only watch as his would-be saviour flew not towards him or aimed it's sights at the drone that was controlling him, but took off at incredible speeds towards its only destination. It would go flying into the abomination that was Cockroach and Squid, the framewerk igniting in a beautiful display of fireworks that would likely have taken out both pilots in glorious eruption. One could only hope that would be the last anyone saw of bug on this battlefield, but even Arrish questioned if bug could truly be taken down. Maybe in that, they were cut from the same cloth.

Arrish found himself audibly screaming, beckoning for Mema-ka to come back and free him from this hell that guinevere had imprisoned him in. Was this really going to be how Apple would lose? Not fighting to the very end with their teeth grit like angry dogs, but in an explosive suicidal blast that didn't even change the state of the battle? Arrish slammed his hands against the console and lowered his head.

---

---

"No. No. I refuse to go down this way. I am not some whimpering dog, or a zealot with a suicide wish. I do not face death, face loss and allow myself to give up. "

"I am the Arrish Duval, unwavering son of the house of Duval. This is not how I will fall. I will not give up. I will keep fighting. They will have to tear me down limb from limb before I stop fighting, and I will fight even still!"

First things were first. He wasn't going to be getting anywhere useful with that damn drone outside of his beloved Horst. If he was going to be able to do something about it then it meant putting his own life on the line."My lady, you've always fought for me. Now let me fight for you, my dear Horst."

Arrish freed himself to the devices that were holding him down and would tear off anything unessential that was holding him back. He would climb out of the hatch and with an [Eagle Eye] with his [Mauser] He would make a clean shot through the drones that were interrupting his system. He would climb onto Horst if he had to. Anything for a sliver of victory... He wouldn't give up. He wouldn't go down laughing. He wouldn't throw himself to the wolves, but he would fight, fight, and fight until his very last breath.

The deed done, he would climb back inside and begin to reassert control over the Horst once more. He only hoped that Team Mango didn't have any more drones or tricks up their sleeve.

---

As soon as she removed her headgear and checked that she was indeed not suffering a nosebleed, Minerva immediately headed to the back of the watching crowd, processing the entire fight in her head. Looking back at it, she felt that she did everything right. From following the strategy and the combat going their way. She even pushed herself to her limit to overcome Griff.

And yet despite that...

She died, if that was real she will die and be forgotten not long after and it haunts her.

One thing is clear, the current her is not enough. She needs to be better, push herself more and reach her level. She can do it, after all she had her blood and more. That is why they made her, she cannot let their deaths be in va…

Calm down, ý̷̨̧̛̥̌͐͑̿o̴̝̟͗u̵̢̟̱̥͔͍̾ ̵̢̝̮̯̙͉̈̊͂j̴̧̪̳̪̉͋u̸̲̦̼̯̮̓̉ͅŝ̸̨͓̈́̊ț̵̔͐̽ ̶̫͈̓̒̉̃̓͗n̴̫̬̤͝e̴̦̫̻̜̊e̷̳̗̅d̴̨͓͛͂̀̈́̂͝ ̵̦̳͔̟̫̔̏̍͌̾͗t̶̗͎͚̂o̵̮̳͖͉̭͂̑̕͝ ̶̲̫̔͋ĺ̵̡͔̹͙̪ì̷͈͚̘͑̈́̓͗v̷̝̿ȩ̷̼̮͖̪͌̀͛ ̸̠̫͚̩̭̔̑c̶͕̜͒̎̉ḧ̶̬̻̭́̋͗̍̏̚i̴͕͚̙̚l̶̜͓͓̥͊̑̍͘͠d̷̠̫͍͙̳͆͘.̵̢̲̠̦͚̄̓͌.̴̊̚

Minerva would find herself back in the room, a slight headache forming at her head as she looked at the floor. She would then stand up and head to Aurora.

”You got me, nice work out there.” she stated in a genuine praise. If not for her rampage, it would be her slowly whittling down Team Apple with her speed after all.

Zel-Ghin

Zel-Ghin had met Rhylaen's gaze head on. He didn't like what he saw or heard. The girls back at the academy had been worshipping the ground he walked on the moment he had beaten up the other guys. His urge to kiss Rhylaen diminishing until it had become completely unappealing to him. It was a pity. Both her and the bluehaired girl were eye candy. But seems they were all hard candy. The bluehaired one, Serah seems to have wanted to say something to him aswell. But that old man, Lorenzo and Ritsu had gotten involved and ordered them to keep it down.

'You are one salty old man. You are just sour because you don't get a lolipop. It would probably break your teeth. Whatever. These girls all seem like such a let down. Just coming here has so far been a massive waste of time. I'm annoyed. So very annoyed. My brother is right. Just seeing all of this. Humans are the source of chaos in the world. We are all broken beyond fixing. Or is it a feature of all of us?' Zel-Ghin mused in his head, his focus slightly at the handheld game he was preoccupied with. So far none had taken that from him. But seeing how Ritsu and Lorenzo were in seemingly a sour mood, perhaps that wasn't such a far off possibility.

'...and I am the result of their greed and desire of wanting to kill each other. You made me this way. You cannot put the genie back in the lamp. The jack in the box.. Pretend the monster isn't under the bed, but knowing it is. Fate is a curious thing, to go with the flow and see where the water takes you. A wolf does what a wolf does. Why should I care about anything other than fulfilling the role given to me? My creators had a dream, my brother has a dream. I don't dream. Dreams are for those who are sleeping. I am awake. I have no dreams.' He blew some air through his nose, his eyes wandering from the small gaming device and up to the ongoing simulation.

His brother. His genetic inferior were still in there fighting. What his older brother lacked in raw physical prowess and piloting, he made well up for in other ways. Mema-Ka always liked to talk about destiny. Zel-Ghin had just shook his head at the idea that things were not preordained. That humans had the choice to forge their own future. Hope was such a tease. All the time his brother had spent reading the history of mankind, all the battles, all the philosophies of men and women long dead. Ever since they had left the lab. His brother had been seeking. Looking for the eden, the paradise, the utopia. But there were no such place in this world. In any world. There were no place for War God Zel-Ghin in such a world… conflict was something that existed everywhere. As long as people would exist.

Regardless Zel-Ghin knew he had to follow. Fate was guiding him towards his purpose in life. Whatever, wherever that may be. The younger twin paused his game and slid the console back into his jacket pocket, looking at the simulation in front of him. He was silent and watched the scenes play out in the simulation, various clashes and explosions.

'The blond idiot. You cannot protect anything. To think that woman would go down to someone like you. How absolutely laughable. You deserve one-another. So you think you can protect Elora? I think I will put your power to the test, pilot of the Shiva.'

'That redhaired pretender knight class trying to mutiny. How dare you try order my brother around like that. Know your place. Rebel scum.'

'You would try to taint my framewerk further by merging it with your pathetic no-name grunt? Hmph. I suppose trash belongs with other trash. A fitting punishment for your failure Squid. Perhaps after some encouragement and modifications you will perform better. I don't need you to pull me down to the level of these people... I was made to excel.'

'Seems the Mango squad leader is not so bad after all. Still not my type... where's the fun in that one?'

'That bluehaired guy. What is he playing at now? I know a cheat when I see it.'

'Elora. You forgot the lolipop and my brother seems to have forgotten you. It all comes full circle. I might forgive you for a kiss.'

Zel-Ghin's eyes then wandered away from the simulation and landing on Lucius, to whom he wrinkled his nose at, then moved on to Stella who he let out a slight scoff at when he saw her pick up Serah. The more he watched the other people, the more alone he felt. He also noticed Jake, but wasn't sure what to make of him. He was unreadable to the younger twin. But perhaps it were due to the helmet. Then there were Aurora who had seemingly taken out the robot woman and her big sluggish giant of a framewerk. That framewerk of hers had potential, it had also been the one to take him. No. Not him. Take the squid out. Perhaps he should take it for a ride himself and show her how that thing would be in the right hands. How hard could it be. He was after all made in a lab to fight.

What was taking his brother so long? He had to hurry up, so they could go elsewhere before he would get sick by watching what he could only suspect were some display of friendship. Zel-Ghin held his expression blank. What use were there in having friends? What even did it all mean? He didn't know, these things had happened at the academy between various other cadets. He assumed they were pairing up because they felt they belonged to the same tier on the tierlist.

He had watched them many times from the highest floor of the academy, peering out the window how the other cadets went off in pairs of two or more, sometimes they would be picked up by a vehicle driven by their genetic contributors. Their parents. Parents. Another word which held no meaning to him. He didn't personally know who had given him and his twin their genetic code. Faceless shadows.

Mema-Ka had called one of the scientists "Mother" which had aided them in their escape of the old lab. She had often been present in the background for the various tests, never taking part in applying the contents of the syringes or the other things. He had adopted the same calling for her as his twin, but he still didn't understand the meaning. She had given him a game however. And for that he was thankful, that and assisting them to leave that place. A fateful encounter.

Father? Unknown. Mother? Unknown. Brothers? One known. Friends? None. Games? A few.

Zel-Ghin raised his arm abit and looked at the palm of his hand. Just what was flowing in his veins? Would he ever find out? Following the flow of the river seemed like the only path he could take, and follow his brother wherever he would try to get to. He could hear his words in his mind.

'Zel-Ghin. If you join me in my quest. I will promise you that you will find the answers you seek. It will take some time, but trust me. You will. I cannot do this without you...'

---

"Tch," Ava clicked her tongue in frustration. Argent Wings had taken more damage than she had intended.

Argent Wings was lightly armoured in the first place, so it was not meant to take many hits. But she supposed it was to be expected given the circumstances of being surrounded and outnumbered.

Glancing at Horst, which had seemingly been successfully controlled by Guinevere, Ava took comfort that, at the very least, their gambit to take control of Horst worked.

Still...given Argent Wings' current state, close-range combat would be unwise. Fortunately, she still had some options.

Pushing Argent Wings as far as she could, Ava managed to have her Framewerk reach the top of the building closest to her to gain a vantage point, allowing her to witness Raptor leaping close to where Cockroach was, while Horst and Logic Diver were standing in close proximity, with Arrish seemingly making his way out of the cockpit to make a daring attempt to manually countering Guinevere's hacking.

A dangerous attempt, but given the situation, Ava supposed there was not much else he could do.

She briefly glanced at the Argent Wings systems before realising that out of the three, Raptor was unfortunately barely out of range, though the other two were fortunately within range of Argent Wings' Marker Lights.

"Cockroach, Gwen. I'm leaving Raptor to you. Will try to neutralise Horst and Diver," she said before putting Argent Wings' system into overdrive. [Flash in the Dark]

Employing a modification similar to the one done to Sleeping Thunder and activated by Aurora earlier, Argent Wing's engine whirred, its weapon systems pushed past the limit of its normal output.

Given the state of Horst and Logic Diver that were already damaged, one could say it was overkill, and Ava was endangering the integrity of Argent Wings' system needlessly, but Ava was not one who liked taking chances, and this was the best way she had to ensure the destruction of both Horst and Logic Diver.

The first attack would be aimed at Horst, taking advantage of the marking light from Ava's initial attack on Horst, while the second one would strike at Logic Diver.

The overcharged Marker Light installed on Argent Wings fired twice, raining down from above on Horst and Logic Diver.

Seven
_______

After some stretching, Jake took note of the group gathering near him along with Lieutenant Ritsu stopping by.

Truth be told, he didn't want to interact but it was a necessity in squads...something he was also taught to do more of during his time in The Numbers division.

More important...some of them were on the opposing team or that new cadet from team banana who perhaps weren't aware of his I.D.

Still feeling the sync feedback pain...he none the less walked up to the group and decided to do the usual introductions.

"...Greeting. Cadet Jake Twilight. Callsign Seven of the Angel Zero...that was a good simulati-...I think the "slang" would be uh G.G?"

Jake tried a "friendly" approach there with his wording but...perhaps his stiff attitude and monotone voice makes it feel less "friendly" or "funny" but it was an attempt none the less.

Griff

Griff had blinked quickly, the simulation going black for him, and the helmet on his head was being lifted off his head. The blond reached up for it with both his hands.

"No! I can still fight! Get back here!" His voice that of anger and frustration, he knew he could still fight. He had to keep fighting. This couldn't be it. There was no way he could have lost to Minerva again. 'Shiiiiiiit! Fucking shiiiiiiit! Elora!' He mentally lamented and slammed his arms down on the armrests in agitation. He had failed again. AGAIN.

He felt the sweat sliding down his face, his hair and neck.'No... I definitely hit her. She has to have also been.' His widened eyes searched the room for Minerva, spotting her standing close to Aurora. The blond man blew some air through his mouth in a slight relief. At least he had taken her with him. He couldn't have imagined that smug look on her face again. He still had nightmares about the weightlifting incident. He had woken several times during the nights, screaming and sweating before realizing he was in his room at the ship.

His comerades dying in battle was traumatic enough, but having suffered defeat to Minerva at weightlifting had injured him gravely. Had the cosmic gods forsaken him in favor of Minerva? Well, she was pretty so maybe the gods had something for vanity? She also had impressive abs. But his was clearly bigger. He was certain of it. Then again, he had not told Minerva to take off her shirt fully so they could compare. Maybe that was something to do later? But she had now taken him to a draw, despite the mess her frame had been in, and he had felt pity… he had not gone at her fully. At least not with the intend to crush her. It dawned on him that he was partially to blame for the situation he now found himself in. His hesitation and compassion had made him indecisive and had led to his loss.

Griff held out his left hand, palm facing upwards, then he softly slammed his right hand which had been tightened into a fist into it. As if the lights had lit upstairs. But there was also the other feeling, that Minerva had genuinely fought him with all she had left and managed to take him out. That wasn't something he could deny. She was almost like some super soldier of some kind. He felt impressed, but of course he couldn't tell that to her. She might get that awful smug look on her face again. He frowned at the very thought.

Aurora had taken out that big hulking monster Mother Goose, that was impressive, even if she blew herself up doing so. Then his eyes landed on Lucius. 'Huh? Oh! That must be banana-dude! Oh boy... he looks like he could really use some physical training. Not to worry little boy! The Griffman will teach you how to be a man! Fight like a man! Eat like a man! And build muscle like a man... or woman!' Griff nodded to himself, his blue eyes wandering to Jake. "Good job helmet-dude. Come to think of it. Keep the helmet on. It keeps the mystery. Galactic rangers inspired right?" Griff gave a broad grin and made a thumbs up to him, despite how disappointed he were with himself, he had taken out Atty though and Argo. But… he had failed Elora, failed Arrish and more.

His attention span swiftly changed to Stella, Serah, Aurora, Rhylaen and Minerva. Griff did his best to not yell out loud, but he was a fiery person so even when he was trying to keep his voice low, he had that fiery energy in his voice.

"Hey you guys. Good job out there! Nice fireworks Aurora, also not bad Minnie, but we settle this later. This isn't over!" Griff raised his entire right arm into an arm-pump motion, to show off his biceps and issue another challenge. This wasn't over. He had to defeat her. He had to. Then he would be the one having a smug smile. His blue eyes met with Rhylaen's purple, he knew he had to say something about her too.

"Hey. You did good… I mean for an al- I mean… you know…" He began, his eyes finding Minerva momentarily. "I mean for a girl! I mean a really strong girl from some buzzing planet with wings and- shit. You didn't suck okay? Get off my back already. I said you did fine!" He swiftly crossed his arms and muttered to himself. "Uhh... also good job with bashing in Sleepy, robot-lady. Must be good software in you. Whatever that actually means... No offense Aurora! I definitely don't want to piss off your frame, it's packing some real firepower doesn't it? Perhaps I could try it later?" He smiled and allowed the question to float out there for a moment.

"Also what's with the clone over there? He looks like he's lost everything? Hey come on over and stop sulking, bet it didn't go that bad right? Also clones are super cool! Did you know one of the galactic ranger's primary villains is in fact a clone? I know right? " Griff said and waved his hand in a beckoning manner.

"Who are you calling a clone you mongrel? I am not some fake. I am the real thing. The name is Zel-Ghin. Remember it bozo." Zel-Ghin replied in an annoyed tone of voice, he kept himself a slight distance away from the others.

"Not sure what a mongrel is. But sounds fierce. I did mean you of course. Well we shall probably have some steak to celebrate our first virtual scramble. And what's better to celebrate with than scrambled eggs and steak! Also my name is not Bozo, it's Griffith Burnhardt! But you guys can call me Griff! Hey! Scrawny guy! Come over and join us, you too black ranger!" Griff raised his voice abit to motion towards Jake and Lucius to come closer.

"Anyways. Amazing moves out there with Atty! Good fight! Little girl! Uh.. Serah right? I was so tempted to follow and teach you how to fight! Got some good moves! I can teach you some more! Hoooah!" Griff approached and tried to pat and rub Serah on the head, wasn't that what seniors did to kouhai's in the galactic ranger show all the time? He definitely was like the red ranger, the guy who knew how to handle people, was it with words or punching people in the face. He was an upfront guy after all. Just like him. And Serah was like the blue ranger who needed a mentor to learn the secret justice fighting techniques. She clearly had talent with how she had taken out Rhylaen and damaged his mighty Shiva.

Stella's mind raced through calculations as she procured the supplies, loading everything in a large box in short order. Before the staff could realize the who, or why, the servitor caretaker Lilim was already on the move, reaching the command centre again.

"Supply Parameters updated." She said to herself as she spotted Lise coming to help. Stella sent a quick message of gratitude as soon as they made eye contact, as she hauled the box towards the gathering of pilots. She started carefully draw bottles and handled them, lamenting they were quite unsafe and could not...be handled like sippy cups. Her hands also reached for blankets, and she began to hand each pilot some blanket and water, focusing on the ones worse off first.

Some pilots, she did some stuff differently. Her hand reached for Minerva's fluffy crown as she patted it so lightly, ruffling it like a child. "Good job. This unit is proud of you." She said in an affectionate manner. She tried the same with Jake but a helmet was in the way, so the maneuver was aborted. "This unit is sorry." She said to him, handing much needed water and blanket like she had done with ther Argo pilot earlier.

Rhylaen was trickier, though, but Stella was programmed to deal with shorter people, so she knelt before her, to meet the strange creature at face level, before delicatedly assessing if Rhylaen was safe to headpat. Result was positive, so she got a headpat too. She knew she was doing her best and all the zapping needly things were just because she had been ordered too. She took special care of sparing her wings by putting a blanket over her with delicate moves.

She spared a specially warm look at Aurora and Serah, before she gave them the clear liquid and complimentary blankets, as well as looking at Lucius, not knowing what to make of him, before giving him also a complimentary headpat, blanket and bottle, too.

However, it was...when she approached Zel-Ghin when Stella's demeanor seemed to shift, as she just shoved the blanket and water onto his hands, finally going after the loudest person in the room, Griff. She handed a bottle to him. Wrapped him into one of the last blankets too...

And then it seemed as if she was going to reach for the headpat, but instead, her hand arched like a claw, a vice-like grip digging into his scalp, lifting him by the skull using one arm of hers as her eyes glowed red. "...Ritsu, Liutenant, would appreciate if...you were a little less loud." She said, in a very ominous, almost machine like tone. "...Do not touch Serah. Force will be applied with extreme prejudice." The gynoid warned as she dangled Griff away from Serah, sitting him right next to Zel by force, before taking a pen, scribbling on a sticker note and slapping a clear message for everyone to see.

Naughty.

Her eyes kept glowing, as she stared at both naughty boys, her senses like a hawk, and eyes glowing red in the process of lecturing them. "Both of you. Corner." She said.

@Ammokkx@Dezuel@DarkRecon@Digmata@Shifter_Master@Crusader Lord

Rhylaen wasn't sure about the way Griff talked to her, but at least he seemed to be trying to be nice. She could accept that. She also accepted Stella's headpat, though she really didn't like being treated like a child.

And then Stella tried to put Griff in the corner. Rhylaen folded the blanket she'd been draped in under one arm -- it was already plenty warm in the room, after all -- and approached the "naughty" pair. "Griff. ...Thank you." She hadn't expected him to try to protect her when Serah and Atty attaacked. Maybe from another member of the team it wouldn't have been so strange, but it seemed like Griff was making a genuine effort, and she appreciated that, even if he went about it in an awkward fashion.

As the Cocksquid, the abomination of alloy engineered in the heat of the moment by Bug, crawled closer, and Horst began turning back, still shaking in unnerving fashion, Mema-Ka had decided on a heroic, or at least pragmatic, sacrifice for the sake of team Apple. Raptor’s parts audibly groaned as misaligned parts forced into a new and faster configuration, dropping Logic Dover in the process.

“Mema?” Elora yelped in surprise, and then saw as Horst’s Multiform extended, only to see Arrish himself pop out of the hatch, carried aloft by jet boots on the suit and wielding his Maser. While she was confused at first, she now understood that Guinevere had taken control of the Frame, and was about to stab Raptor in the back.

“No…” Her eyes widened in shock. She needed to do something before it was too late. But what? She spotted the drone on Horst’s back, but the Frame had turned to face them before she had a chance to shoot it off. She remembered the technical details for the possession system including drone compatibility…by the use of remote communications.

In a flash of insight, Elora activated the Hyperwave Array system: even if it was partially broken and unreliable, it was still capable of sending signals. She pushed forward with the chassis jets, and turned the output systems to maximum: at that moment, the vicinity was filled with garbage frequency at various bandwidths, causing the drone, and the Dancer virus by proxy, to slow down to a crawl as it attempted to filter through all the commands and find the correct ones amidst a sea of electromagnetic refuse.

As the drone slowed down, so did Horst, and it reared back with the held spear as if striking a pose, giving just enough time for Arrish to shoot at the drone with the Maser just as it was about to thrust: the shot made its mark, the beam having hit the drone right in the core, causing it to detonate. The forward movement of the Frame stopped mid-motion, causing the Horst to comedically fall forward like an action figure, the spear audibly creaking from the weight as it was stiffly held, the tip embedded into the concrete. Logic Diver’s Hyper Array also broke down, the antenna having crackled one last tiny flash before it smoked like a chimney. But Elora was content as she watched Arrish swoop back into the hatch, having done something useful with the system.

Raptor advanced, shooting a Rocket Anchor that lodged itself into the Cocksquid’s twisted torso, and the jet-like Frame reeled in fast: it dove in with a flying kick, followed by flashes of light as the Attack Drones’ plasma reactors were set for self-destruct protocols.

Bug, knowing that Mema-Ka would proceed to escape, attempted to hack in two ways: the first was to lock down the exit hatch with remote hacking even as the pink piece of scrap metal was caved in by the mighty kick, and the second was to attempt to a forced Kattai of Cocksquid and Raptor. Big was successful, but only with the latter, as he had failed to realize that the doors only had electronic systems for closing and opening the exit hatch, and no electronic locks. However, he did succeed with the Kattai command, and nano machines began consuming both Framework's, just as Mema-Ka was able to wrench the manual release open and ascend out.

As the Kattai system began to fail, the emergency eject system activated as a safety measure, launching Bug out of the cockpit right before the two Frames violently combined, resembling a horrific heap of scrap metal and wiring; the Kattai system had failed to recombine Squid and Raptor due to Cockroach being stuck in the middle. The self-destruct mechanism activated, causing a huge explosion: while far enough not to be caught in the radius, the shockwave sent the two pilots to ascend.

High above the battlefield, between heaven and earth, the two pilots suddenly came face to face. Like in an old western duel, except one in a frontier town made of clouds, they reached for their Masers.

However, one of them was quicker on the draw.

[Bugatti disconnected]

Argent Wings, in a daring maneuver, vaulted to the top of the megabuilding, the concrete cracking under the Frame’s weight, yet still holding the Light Framewerk without collapsing.
Then, like an avenging angel, the Frame disabled all limiters, and twin red lights on the chassis, like the eyes of a demonic face, flashed open, followed by twin streams of Marker Light rounds that streaked downwards, not dissimilar to Aurora’s Gatling Gun fire.

Elora saw the attack coming, and fired back with the Automatic Battle Rifle.

“YAAH!” She screamed as the hyper-accelerated rounds ripped through her round Frame’s armor, but she still fired. Then, something began to happen [Humanity’s Potential]: the virtual reality simulation began to slow down for all participants, yet Logic Diver was frame-skipping past the slowdown, allowing her to get more shots in, a phenomenon unforeseen before. As a result, Elora managed to tear through the knee joint of one of Argent Wings’ legs [Speed reduced by 3, total 5]. But ultimately, the slowdown ended as a round pierced through the cockpit, and Elora’s heart.

[Elora disconnected]

“AAH…Aah….aah…”

Elora briefly screamed as her consciousness returned to reality before dissipating away with exhaustion, and she lifted the interface helmet. Alarmingly, small wisps of smoke were pouring out of it. The engineers running the VR turned frantic, muttering about how that was not supposed to happen, and Lorenzo took a sharp look at the diagnostics on his device, an eyebrow raised at the information collected.
“To think it spiked that high, and was able to even corrupt the program…Fascinating…”, he mumbled.

Elora looked pale and sickly, sweating profusely. Though she wasn’t dry-heaving like Aurora, the experience had definitely taken a toll on her, as she doubled over on her seat, her head over her knees, her shallow and quickened breaths the only sign of life. “I…I failed…I failed…everyone…” She could be heard muttering, and tears tinkled down to the cold floor. Stella and Liisa returned with the supplies, the latter having gone over to tend to Elora while Ritsu walked over to the former, who had suddenly ended up in an altercation with Griff. "Enough," the lieutenant ordered the both of them, her arms crossed.

The pain. The searing pain. The familiar feeling of blacking out. But this time...he knew he wasn't going to be the end. The transition happened. A disconnection, as his nerves flared up, misbehaving. Bug let out a drawn out sigh as a trembling hand yanked his visor and nearly tore it apart as he pried it out of his face, a gritty snarl on his face.

I need to work out on my physical. I won't let this go any longer. Mema-ke, you're going to be a pain in the ass and I'm going to make sure I will be a pain in your ass too.

An steely gaze met the ceiling of the room as Bug roused his body. Too quick, powering through misbehaving synapses and pain, like a badly strung puppet. He got to his feet, heavy breaths due to the strain but no sign of heaving or vomiting urges. He would not allow his body to misbehave in front of his superiors.

"I failed...I failed...everyone." A female voice was heard near him. How many times he had heard it before. How many times he had said that same sentence to himself. Forcing his body to stand up and approach, his knee became jelly, and he fell face first into the ground as he crawled out of his sim bed, a cut lip sending metallic taste in his mouth.

You are my vessel. OBEY ME. He chastised his own frayed body, who still bore scars within, even if they had healed those without. The legs weren't responding at first, so he crawled towards Elora, his useless limbs flailing until his hands got a shaky grasp in a metal support. His legs ceased wailing and the seizure came to an end. He wiped his bloody lip with his sleeve. He had to be presentable.

"No. You did not fail. You will live and learn." Bug said, solemnly to Elora. The prince stood up, shakily. "And you bugged the simulation. That is a major...feature." He said, as he recalled the earlier chatter. He let out a deep breath. He reached for a handkerchief, his hands still shaky, but determined, as he handed it to her.

She's just an asset that needs to properly...handled. He callously thought, trying to excise the alarming feeling of sympathy that he thought he had exiled in a dark corner of his mind. Sympathy got him wounded. Sympathy had gotten people killed. This was a crooked war of crooked people.

And he could see she was trying. But she was aimless.

"Wipe off your tears. You need to keep seeing. You're an intel officer aren't you? I guess there will be a chewing of this after all. So learn. Take the torch of those before you." Bug said to Elora. "Lorenzo thinks you can do it, and I think i know what he has seen in you. And look..." He added, his shaky finger pointing at the screen.

"That stupid horse maniac is still on the fight, and he's not going down easily." He added, pointing at the screen and the comms.
@Ariamis

"Acknowledged mission parameters." She said to Lucius. "Procuring relief." Stella then broke in a brisk sprint, before steading herself before someone.

"Please hug eachother for comfort." She indicated. "Soft and cute parameters within threshold. Serah's punishment is therapy." She said to both Aurora and Serah, before adding. "Resuming material gathering mission." Stella droned, and then zoomed away, at full speed, before doing an impressive frontflip to avoid a certain terminal and a distressed technician in her search for water and blankets. They had to be provided.

He...she....eeeeeeeh?! He'd seen Lilim before, but this one seemed rather peculiar and apt to attend to the humans she was...well that she was working alongside now that he thought about it. She'd been in the VR sim, and that meant she was a 'comrade in arms' as it were on this project. A pilot, selected for one reason or another to pilot a-...wait, yeah, she was the super heavy he'd seen in the sim. The one with the giant hammer. He knew this already! Still, it was an odd situation nonetheless such that it had made him forget for a moment all the same.

Lucius looked between himself, Aurora down in the pod, and the blue haired girl he'd seen before but which now had been pulled over to them so suddenly...with instructions to hug Aurora? He thoughe he'd gotten that much right in the blur of motion and words the Lilim had thrown at them. But at least the woman in the pod seemed to be doing 'ok' enough, given her short responses, but drained from the looks of it. Or hurting. In any case she was right, the matter of helpful supplies seemed handled well enough if the Lilim was of any indication. Neat.

“I. Aurora. You?”

"Ah-"

Cut off from his current thoughts by the other woman's brief interjection, the younger man turned and smiled warmly back at her as compared to the more blank expression of focus he'd taken on when looking at the display once more.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Aurora. I'm-"

Oh yeah! I haven't seen you before either,” she'd say, and if Lucius had been paying attention, he'd notice this was the same voice that said she had seen him earlier. "So... you're the new person? Like, uh, what was your name... Mr. Banana Split?"

The word choked up in his throat into more of a 'pfftlkhadlkhasd' as the other girl also piped in to talk to him as well, the one the Lilim had pulled over. The one that had emerged seemingly from the sim around the same time as himself, no? He hadn't the idea which Framewerk she'd been in at the moment, but he recognized the voice immediately. She'd been one of the team mango people who had talked to him! Not the one that had made the deal, but still her voice felt pretty recognizeable as it was to his mind. Chipper. Upbeat. Head-pattable, if that worked as a descrptive term. Heh. Ahem, but....well techynically he was a banana split, given what happened in the sim, after a moment of recollection and his right hand unthinkingly coming up to where he'd been cut in two in the sim.

Scrambling to get his composure back, Lucius lightly coughed into his hand to clear his throat and-

"My name's Lucius, though I did get turned into a Banana Split when you really think about it. Huh.

What's your name?"

Shortly thereafter, as the blue haired girl seemed to get distracted with yet another face, another Lilim walked over to where they were and offered a rather familiar vial of liquid to Aurora. Buran-X. Stuff he'd been given AFTER his first time in the VR sim chairs elsewhere and-....ugh. Yeah he was getting a bit more deja-vu than not from his memories, and it wasn't a good nostalgia as much as it was thinking of the slipping and falling and....and it was ALL OVER THE POD AND FLOOR AROUND IT for pity's sake! Why hadn't the staff at least warned him! Or his commanding officer? Anyone? Hmm? But that was in the past, as much as the memory stung again, and he didn't need to....stay there. Quite...and in more than one way if he were to be frank.

Still, other pilots were becoming disconnected as the simulation continued as numbers on both sides were rapidly whittled down with each round that continued to go on from his personal observation. His gaze would return again to the simulation to this end, mostly as one pilot with a familiar voice seemed to suicidally run into the fray against another enemy as both ended up finishing each other off in the process of their climatic clash. A rather violent little clash there, if he were to put a descriptive term to it.

Then came the part that intrigued him the most on a technical level, in his mind, mostly as the pink mech made a rather innovative move with one of the Framewerk sim wrecks to 'kattai' with it using the....using the systems of the downed Framewerk, yes? It seemed so from the looks of it, as if the remains 'came to life' and merged with the pink Framewerk. Otherwise the pink Framewerk would have had its own kattai to use, yes? Not the most common system to have from the looks of it, yet the move of hijacking one was u seful, and rather clever at that. Helped compensate for sustained damage, from the loooks of it, and it brought a thought to his mind in a more poignant sense.

Yes, something like 'that' could perhaps work. But it'd be a whole other beast, like a secondary system more than a mere mod, but lacking the skills he'd not be able to replicate it at his current level of technical knowledge. But...hmm...if he found a teacher and got some skills under his belt more than he had, perhaps, then could he eventually create a 'monster' like that? Well, less monster than purpose built tool, mayhaps, something capable of repairing damage actively in the field. Not that the idea didn't already perhaps exist, but in theory it could be achieved through a concept known in its most base form as 'recycling' but which worked in effect by the means of-

”You got me, nice work out there.” she stated in a genuine praise. If not for her rampage, it would be her slowly whittling down Team Apple with her speed after all.

Another person approaching Aurora to talk to her, this time one of the two pilots that had most recently been disconnected in that violent melee and clash. Tall, hair going white despite her visible age, with the brown of her hair being visible as clearly as the white was. Seemed to carry herself well, with confidence, but something also felt...'off' when looking at her, even if he couldn't tell why off the bat, to his eyes. Didn't react much to her exit from the sim, or the effects of the feedback thereof, which spoke to experience with the sim at the very least perhaps. She'd also survived this long into the simulation as well, which spoke for itself in kind, to boot. Skilled.

Lucius gave a small but polite wave at the new arrival, but would do so after any potential reactions from the addressed Aurora if nothing else. She had the right to react first, and he didn't want to intrude. Even so he did want to at least introduce himself again.

"Hey there, name's Lucius. You're the pilot of the...Argo, right-"

"No! I can still fight! Get back here!" His voice that of anger and frustration

Lucius' gaze swiveled immeadiately over to the anger nearby, even as the man's own eyes seemed to pause on Lucius himself for a moment in turn before moving on to the silent, helmeted fellow who had emerged from his own pod prior to this point. Then he moved on to a number of the others, hailing with praise and a booisterousness that was almost infectious in the heat of the moment. Not that the response of the similarly musclebound and grumpy 'Zel-Gin', the man playing a video game instead of looking on at the simulation after barking at the blue haired girl nearby, seemed to be any bit as familiar or friendly in its nature....and maybe this 'Griffith Burnhardty' wasn't the most apt to notice such hostility either. Noted in all cases, at least.

The arrival of sippy cups of water and so forth was still somewhat welcome as the eccentric Lilim from before finally returned, however, and the headpart was less than unexpected by the time he noticed her doing it to others on the way back. Reminded him of the Lilim helpers at school when he was much younger. Familiar, warm, but as she drug off a grumpy Zel and and Griff and literally put a note with 'Naughty' on things was the actionhe finally couldn't help but snicker silently at for a moment. Then a realization made him pause visibly. Wait...had they actually brought in a literal daycare Lilim here? Even Griff being pulled away was...he...this was uncanny really. Too uncanny. He almost went pale for a second at the thought, even, before his eyes returned to the display of battle.

A clash of blows, a flare of light, and-...and...as he watched the legless Logic Driver shoot, he felt a familiar tingle at the back of his mind. A hint. Not that he was going through it, but it made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end all the same. Even if the angry angel that had split Team Banana in two was amping up her power, similar to how Aurora had done before as the idea came to mind, that moment of brief recognition tingled inside of his nerves for but that moment in time more than anything. Soon thereafter, with thin treails of smoke coming from the headset, the pilot of Logic Driver emerged from the simulation in a manner that felt far closer to Aurora and...crap.

As Ritsu moved over to confront Griff and the Lilim from before, and the latter Lilim having moved to attend to Elora, Lucius silently cursed at himself in his mind as he glanced back at Aurora and those near to her with a midly apologetic look before he began moving again with haste. Feet whirred along with rather human intent, even as the amalgamation'd pink mech was blown to bits and the pilot emerged from the simulation with a frightening seizure and he rapidly tried to divert that way, yet as the younger man forced his body onward and wipped blood on his sleeve as he came over and-

"No. You did not fail. You will live and learn." Bug said, solemnly to Elora. The prince stood up, shakily. "And you bugged the simulation. That is a major...feature." He said, as he recalled the earlier chatter. He let out a deep breath. He reached for a handkerchief, his hands still shaky, but determined, as he handed it to her.

Lucius' mouth halted, stopped before he could emit any cohesive words or thoughts. Yes. That was the voice from Mango that he also remembered from the simulation, but-...hell, the guy was just on the floor, bit his lip, and-....crap. Crap crap crap. Here he was being almost as fussy as the Lilim without really doing anything but wanting to offer help that others were already doing. Yet his gut shouted at him, and he couldn't ignore it if he tried. Like a compulsion. A blasted, stupid-...stop. Breathe.

It made him bite his lip for a moment as he stood there, silently trying to refocus himself, before be finally, slowly, made the rest of the way over the Elora's pod while the rich-looking guy was speaking to her and the Lilim moved to assist her. He sought to give her space to breathe in kind, and not get in the way, but listened on as things continued to spout from the younger blue haired man's mouth.

"Wipe off your tears. You need to keep seeing. You're an intel officer aren't you? I guess there will be a chewing of this after all. So learn. Take the torch of those before you." Bug said to Elora. "Lorenzo thinks you can do it, and I think i know what he has seen in you. And look..." He added, his shaky finger pointing at the screen.

"That stupid horse maniac is still on the fight, and he's not going down easily." He added, pointing at the screen and the comms.

That was right, even as Lucius' eyes went back to the sim display, there were still two pilots in the simulation. The one that had messaged him when he'd moved to help Logic Driver, it he had things pinned down right at this venture, and the pilot that had slain him prior. He'd walked right into that one indeed, and he wouldn't deny it even now. Same stupid gut instinct that had just pushed at him again a minute ago, same one that told him the guy talking was still a bit of an asshole for what he was saying and yet was...right. They did need to bite the tongue and learn, and Team Apple had one person left to fight as well even as his former slayer also seemed injured by Elora's last hurrash, but....damn it all. The old man was even simply seeming amused by the 'data' he'd gotten from what happend with Logic Driver.

It was...frustrating. Vexatious. Part of him wanted to scream and shout something singular at the blue haired man and Lorenzo, almost, but biting his tongue so hard left the mild taste of blood in Lucius' mouth on the right side. Breathe. He knew this wasn't the right thing to do, so he had to do something to himself instead. Center yourself. Think on the facts. Analyze them. Think on what he'd seen Logic Driver doing. Think on what he'd seen the others doing. Collect the data. Process. Emit a resulting conclusion, and let the carefully processed words out rather than some outburst.

Swallow your humanity pride. Sink the erattic empathic impulse jarring response far under the waves that rolled about within the sea of his mind. Bury the light the reflexivness from before deep within, deeper than the light of the sun could pierce. Deeper. Deeper. Let the cool water sink in over it all and quench the hot blade. See the trails of steam. The flickers of the fading heat. Let it fall down like a heavy boulder, and quench the gut instinct until you can contain it in the palm of your hand like a ball of cooled steel. Let the process of military drill and discipline they'd pushed into him for a good while by now settle into the empty space, then, and let the newer habits kick in. Let them take up the space inside the mind that the shouting wanted to come from. Let the sea reclaim its own...let the sound of crashing and settling waves come over his ears and the roaring became softer and softer...

...good.

His features would dull more as he worked to push himself internally, until Lucius would again be able to provide a warm and attemptedly-comforting smile towards the crying Elora. He dared not reach out a hand initially, however, though he would let words come from his lips all the same. He pretended as if the jolt of internal turmoil at seeing her state, and of seeing the other guy on the floor before he'd come over and spoke those wordds, hadn't happened. It was his blasted first day, of all things, and here he was. Laughable. Yet thisn't wasn't all laughable, and neither was this simulation as real as it felt like. Yet the results? The actions taken under pressure? They'd be very real, and just as tragic if they didn't learn in all of this. If they didn't gain the control and experience needed to work together on a battlefield.

That? That much was made real by this simulation, perhaps, and he couldn't forget that due to his own impulses of all things. He couldn't, not unless he wanted himself and the others to end up actually dead out there. So in that vein, he would soften his tone to speak to the crying Elora, even as he tried to keep his heels quenched and be more actively mindful of his actions in the heat of the moment.

"There's a reason VR is used for practice and training, really, so...hey, this guy's right. You didn't fail, heck you made your opponent pay for coming after you a little AND glitched the sim a bit it seems. And you helped push one Banana-split-in-two idiot to think about his actions a bit more at that, heh, so you've my thanks as well.

Never know what our actions might lead to sometimes either, but...Mr. Pink here said you're a comms officer? Right? Information is your forte then. With that in mind, perhaps we really oughta' see this through to the end yeah? Even if its hurts, it's part of how we learn. Its how we move forward and try to make ourselves better."

His head would gesture to the screen showing the ongoing simulation in kind, trying to get a read on his words and how she'd handle things being said, before his gaze moved up to watch the ending moves of the 'show' before them. If the end came this round at least. Raptor was gone, but its pilot was ooutside of the cockpit and moving. Not a good sign for Apple. Mango had two Framewerks left at that. Would Elora's actions, his own, or those of the other now-defeated Team Apple members help the situation any at this venture though? Only the ensuing minutes would tell, and either way....they indeed had something to learn from this.

However, his eyes would flicker to the blue-haired man for a moment, simply taking him in again, before looking away back at the simulation without a word. No more words. No judgements now. Just observation, and trying to help despite him trying to cool his own heels and keep them cool. Bleeding hearts were the first to die out there and get people killed....right? So he had to take this time to, well, try to learn as well. He had to.

@AtomicNut@Ariamis@Digmata@Ammokkx@Shifter_Master

Seven
@Ariamis
_______

Jake was waiting for anyone to respond to him when he noted the technicians rushing about...they noted the simulation when he noted the Logic Diver...wait...

Seeing the technicians and "generally" what happened on the screen showing the VR battle, Jake remembered something from his earlier days of study to the time spent with The Numbers...could Cadet Elora have...or...?

He also made his way to Elora's VR pod just as other individuals did so...and handed Elora his towel and bottle of water he got from Cadet Stella just before.

Still...despite what Cadet Bug's and the new pilot who he now knows and Lucius words ringing true, he didn't quite trust Cadet Bug's mental stability. Based on "data", the pilot probably also saw Elora's "potential" himself but probably want to utilize it for his own ends...but again, "data" can be faulty. Personally, Bug seemed "normal" enough right now with handling his "loss" properly it seemed.

"...take it from an information pilot ma'am. You did well", Jake then said to Elora.

"I thought you were that guy over there! I saw him a little bit ago... or, well his helmet anyway,”

“No. He. Jake.” Aurora would softly interject, an amused smile breaking across her features at Serah’s generally upbeat vibe. It was a soothing counterbalance to how the end of the Simulation had been.

Which the skirmish on the east was hardly as interesting as watching Cockroach’s pilot weave into the dead Frames system and restart the Kattai system. Yes, she hadn’t destroyed the engine when her and Sleepy took off the top half, but still. That was by no means an easy feat to pull off. Clearly, that pilot was very skilled in at least Framewerk systems. Which made her wonder why it seemed to be assembled so basically.

She also wondered why it was pink. Seeing as that wasn’t part of the file she had read up on before the Sim.

Regardless, Aurora’s attention was partially pulled away from the mission on display when the Professor’s Lilim assistant approached her and offered up the Vial of Buran-X. It wasn’t something that Aurora had ever taken, as normally her compatibility with the VR systems led her to be unlikely to settle deep enough for feed back issues.

With a mental shrug she quickly took the vial. And true to the Lilim’s word she felt the nausea fading shortly after. Same with the underlying migraine she hadn’t fully noticed.

“Thank you.” Aurora would reply to the Assistant, giving the Lilim a kind smile of her own.

She returned her attention to the Sim in progress, just in time to witness Mema-Ka seemingly abandoning Arrish, Horst, and Logic Diver. That was very much not what she had expected from the man. She posited it could be due to what had been happening to his brother’s Frame, but the dead did not need more attention than the living. Especially in the midst of combat. She would not make the mistake again, assuming she ever found herself in place to do so.

Still she didn’t know what Cockroach was going to do in response, but she didn’t doubt that he had one. Their technical skills alone almost assured it.

Not that it was something she was watching for. No, Aurora’s attention was more focused on Arrish. And the pit of… guilt, that had sprung open inside of her. She still stood by her reason for attempting to shift command. Arrish had defaulted on his operational role, and was seemingly rushing into a unneeded confrontation. But Mema-Ka had proven he wasn’t worth having turned it over too. No matter how his play might turn out. ‘I owe Arrish an apology for this, if nothing else…’

“You as well.” Aurora would reply to Argo’s pilot as they came up to her. Turning slightly to face to imposing woman with a smile. “If the missiles hadn’t worked, I dread to think what would have become of my team. Especially considering everything needed to stop you and Argo.” Her voice was still raspy, but the Buran-X had also soothed her throat enough to not be threatening closure with each word.

Before more could be said, Griff awoke from the VR with the same boisterous energy he always had. Aurora could tell that his heart was in the right place at least, but his execution left much to be desired. But it was clear that he was trying, and as such Aurora was willing to give him some more slack.

That said both him, and shockingly to Aurora Squid’s pilot, were shortly thereafter corralled by Goose’s Lilim. Though not before the machine had dispensed blankets and water bottles to everyone present. Something that Aurora was quick to take advantage of, her throat was still parched from the feedback.

And some water would help in soothing her stomach as well. It was mostly filled with bile at this point after all.

In the foreground the Simulation raged on. Aurora's attention, never fully pulled away from it. As such Arrish’s courage and skill to climb out and then take out the Drone hack was seen, and it was commendable. As was Elora’s use of the Hyper wave Array to scramble and stall the hacked controls. Determination in the face of all that had befallen Apple was heartening to see.

And once Aurora was again impressed by Cockroaches mechanical ingenuity, with their attempt to crush Raptor with a Kattai malfunction. At least she hopes that was the intent. Otherwise it was an error she would be puzzling out for a while yet. Regardless, she wasn’t impressed by the suicidal nature of the action.

Her attention on that half of the battle field was quickly dropped upon seeing Argent Wings move to open up its own Flash. Thus meaning Aurora missed the midair quick draw, not that she would mind. As what really caught Aurora’s attention was Logic Diver. And the way the Simulation started to strain in response to Elora's distress.

“What in the…”

Rather than turn her attention over to where Elora was waking up. Aurora was watching the Professor. due to her angle she caught him out of the corner of her eye, and how he wasn’t surprised at the oddity of the simulation. Her eyes narrowed. ‘You are looking for something in all of this…’ She thought to herself. Making a mental note to see if she could get a recording of the VR station’s log, if not hands on access to it.

She glanced over at Elora, Lucius, and Cockroach’s pilot. And decided to leave Elora to them, she had gotten herself into this situation after all, and while Aurora wouldn’t hammer it in. She agreed with Elora; the young pilot had failed. And she only had herself to blame, as Aurora had warned her against going in deep. But this was training, which is the best situation to encounter such failures. And she had made up for it in the end. Aurora would keep her thoughts to herself unless directly asked.

In the meantime, Aurora would watch the final moments of the mission. And keep an eye on the Professor.

Serah nodded sagely, or more like Popukoly, as Aurora told her which one Jake was. Didn't take long for the man in question to come along and mingle himself, which was a bit goofy given his astronaut helmet. Still, Serah didn't judge- externally, anyway. Minerva came to say hello too, praising Aurora, to which Serah's eyes lit up. This was the first member of her own team that actually came in to say hello without some form of ballistic candy or improvised kidnapping incident.

"Hiiii Minerva!” she waved, trying to get the woman's attention. Serah had been stealing glances at the battle inbetween all the chatter, so she'd seen first hand how Minerva dodged and weaved through all the enemy fire. "You were really cool out there! You and Argo worked together really well... you just kept going even as you two could barely keep standing!”

Serah's eyes sparkled with excitement and admiration as she gushed over Minerva's display. That excitement, however, soon died down as another, much angrier voice cut through the crowd like a hot knife through a chalkboard.

"No! I can still fight! Get back here!"

Griff.

Serah scowled as he approached the group, making a buffoon of himself as he still talked down to Rhylaen. He strutted over to Serah's location not soon after. Her opinion grew even worse as he called her a little girl and that he'd teach her how to fight. Even worse, he was reaching out his hand like he was going to grab her. The girl was just about to slap his hand away and yell at him, and if Stella hadn't returned at that exact moment she just might have done so. Serah had a cup shoved into her hands, a blankie wrapped around her and front-row seats to Griff getting humiliated by a nannybot. 'Serves him right,' she thought to herself.

She took a deep breath to compose herself and, to distract her mind a little, refocused on the battlefield. Things had gone a bit awry since last she looked. Bug had turned himself into a child not even God could love while Arrish was struggling against Sparks' hacking. Seeing her team on a roll like that made her feel nice and fuzzy; they were working together really well. Made her feel less bad about being one of the first to go, too. However, those feelings soon got muddled by another, much less pleasant feeling; disdain. Mema-ka did a reckless, suicidal move- on first blush, that is. He rigged his frame to explode, intending to crash it into Cockroach to take it out of the game. Bug was quick on the draw and managed to fuse both frames together, then the two ejected in tandem... but Serah sensed that that wasn't Mema-ka's plan at all. The ejection happened almost immediately as the frames fused, meaning it was set to go before then.

Meaning Mema-ka was intending to sacrifice Raptor and save himself.

A scowl came across Serah's face as she glanced at the 'Naughty corner' with Zel-Ghin in it. One brother blamed his frame for his own failures, while the other threw his frame to the dogs to save himself. Both of them were just as bad as each-other. The frames weren't just some weapons, they were partners. The frame protects the pilot from harm and the pilot works with their frame to fight the enemy. How did either of them manage to form a bond, 'synchronize' as they say, with their frames? Serah couldn't even begin to imagine how callous jerks like these two got selected for this program.

She didn't get to ponder over it long though. Bug got shot, making Serah wince both in pity for the guy and because she'd hoped he'd take out Mema-ka instead. All while this was happening, Ava managed to take out Elora, so both her and Bug's helmet lifted as they were removed from the battlefield. Elora retreated into herself, distressed. Seeing her friend taking the result so badly, Serah instinctively wanted to dash over and do something to comfort her. She was slow, though, and several of the guys went over to do so instead. Bug, Lucius, Doomguy- all three of them with slightly different approaches.

Serah wasn't sure if she could trust boys to be gentle and cheer Elora up, but... well, they weren't Griff or Zel-Ghin. It was probably fine. She'd trust them, anxiously turning back to Aurora and Minerva.

"Hey, you two," she'd break the ice, clearly intending to ask them something. Serah turned her face to the monitors again before continuing: "Don't you think its wrong to sacrifice your partner?" she asked them, commenting on Mema-ka's actions from earlier. "I don't think... I could ever abandon Atty like that. I feel guilty enough about what I put him through already."

---

Minerva would smile at the praise, agreeing with Aurora that she would be a menace if they didn't get her. She wasn't sure how many it actually took to take her down but Aurora's statement just told her that it is not only barrage took her. Unfortunately they still managed to take her down.

Whatever thoughts forming inside her head we're cut short by a Lilim patting her in the head. Her mind stopped for a moment before she managed to speak. "This is not necessary." Minerva spoke but didn't stop her just wordlessly taking the blanket and cup of water.

Watching the simulation, she cannot help but be impressed with Bug's determination and persistence finding a way to continue fighting even if not for long.

Her mind would halt for while as she watch the simulation break for the second time, as Elora makes her final stand allowing her to match and wound Ava for a brief moment. Aurora had completely summed up her thoughts.

"Her eyes would land at Lorenzo speaking about something in Elora corrupting the system. Was that thing called potential?

Potential that Athena Rivera had fully manifested but her a supposed improvement never held?

Potential...

...she always hate that word.

Serah's admiration would snap her back to reality as if she was reminded of one thing.

At it the end of the day, it doesn't really matter.

Mema-Ka

Fortune was smiling on him, there was no such thing as fate, to him it was just a string of choices which led you to where you would end up.

"Do forgive me. Logic. Raptor. Squid. Mr Pink. You all performed admirably, now rest. We all eventually go to the same place after all." Mema-Ka held his salute momentarily.

He had survived the explosion of the Cockroach and Squid hybrid together with his own frame, the Raptor. And also taken out the pilot. And that was proof enough for Mema-Ka that his choices had been the right one to make. To have lost the Raptor was unfortunate, but he knew he had to do what he did. The Raptor had been at it's limit, to know when to hold on and let go was something he had learnt a long time ago. That the Logic Diver and Elora had been left to fend for themselves out in the open, with no way to move to cover had also been a very unfortunate turn of events. He had counted on the Shiva to survive it's ordeal with the Argo. But that pilot had managed to do him in. Had that not been the case, then he could have counted on that blond man to look after the Logic.

What if he would have done this? What if he would have done that? He wasn't allowed the luxury of thinking back on choices taken, paths chosen. A path not chosen, was a path that never truly existed. Some people would get lost along the way in feelings of regret.

Mema-Ka did not feel it. There were those in the world who regretted being born, the choices they had made, things they had said or not said, to him felt no such thing, because it was something imposed on him in the past. Being brought into this world. What had he to regret in a world that had made most of his decisions for him? No longer. He had broken those chains leaving that lab, his twin brother still were somewhat shackled to it, warped and twisted by it. Believing himself fated to do the things he did because it was in his nature. Perhaps in that regard Zel-Ghin was correct. It was human to be drawn to conflict, how many of those which had partaken in the simulation had felt thrilled or a surge of excitement? Then was he less human? He had felt no joy, no sense of victory in taking down the Cockroach and it's pilot. It was just one step on the stairs up towards his dream. The sooner they would be out of the simulation the better, so he could get to know all the others that were now involved in the project that would shape the future. All of them.

Arrish Duval seemingly had the ambition to be something greater than what he currently were, lunging himself at the chance to prove his worth. A very human thing to do. Mema-Ka wanted to talk more with that one, that man could very well come to be a reliable ally. However he had to shut down his insubordination during a battle, a field commendation should always take priority. Failure to adapt to a changing battlefield would not bode well for anyone. He had to sit down and explain his reasonings later, and see if that man would assist him in opening the door to the future. The Cruxi would likely not hesitate to seize moments when they would present themselves, bickering in the middle of a future battle would be bad for all. If the framewerk program were not the key to ending everything, then what would be? What kind of tech would the Cruxi bring to the table if they could capture such a unit? Now that… would be highly interesting. Even for someone who had very little knowledge of the inner mechanics, they likely possessed tech not available to the Galactic Federation.

...and what would happen if and once they do?

Mema-Ka however would leave all those possibilities for later, for now the simulation was still going on, and he already had made up his mind. He could possibly get to the wreckage of Shiva and the Argo, perhaps one of those frames still could function. However he wasn't fond of gambling, that he had survived the explosion was just good fortune. The Logic was destroyed. The Argent was still out there hiding and likely planning to attack the Horst next, which had gotten itself into some problem.

Mema-Ka pushed the jets on his spacesuit to the maximum to dash through the air towards the closest building to the north to get a better vantage point. The Horst was slightly bent over. This wasn't the time for a knighting ceremony. But it was a good time to do something distracting. The older twin had noticed with his bare eyes the Guinevere just behind the building. If he could distract it, pull it's attention, or better yet pull the Horst's attention to it, that would be good.

'So that's where you've been hiding. Sparks.' Mema-Ka thought as his jet movement got himself closer, and he attempted to grab unto the cockpit hatch of the Guinevere and attempted to open it from the outside, followed by trying to point his [Maser] into the cockpit with a [Free reaction shot] would the other man make any sudden movement or go for his own weapon.

"Did you order takeout? Because here it is. Check." He said in a swift manner, if he could take Sparks out and take the Guinevere in. That would be even better. A date with death either way. Keikaku doori. Just as planned.

[Dash from [Q-17] to [M-19] ]

Sparks blew a breath out through his mouth as his final drone went offline. He was down to just the Arklight Thunder. Still, Arrish had shown impressive resolve and creativity. He couldn't fault the man for that. He might have gone after the Horst again, but his sensors picked up Mema-Ka coming at him in the air, over the top of the building he had the Guinevere behind. Surprising that he'd been seen -- but he had just attacked with a drone, so he supposed his cloaking field must have flickered. "Dancer, keep that hatch locked. I don't want him getting in, even if I disconnect. Got it?"

"Affirmative."

The young man was armed only with a Maser and jet boots, so Sparks wasn't too worried, but it didn't hurt to be certain. "Sorry man, this is gonna hurt...." He muttered under his breath as he activated the Arklight Thunder's Tesla field, before Mema-ka could grab onto his frame. If the rocket boots deactivated and Mema-ka fell, Sparks would follow up by stepping on him.