Ravion the Red

Nerves In Carbonox Reforged: A Roll-Your-Own Giant Mecha Roleplay

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.

---

[Indomitable Will]

---

"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.

Nerves In Carbonox Reforged: A Roll-Your-Own Giant Mecha Roleplay

Arrish Duval

“Hope not ever to see Heaven. I have come to lead you to the
other shore; into eternal darkness; into fire and into ice.”

---

'Seriously, you're going to double down on taking command when Aurora's death wish order was emotional dogwash? You've gotta be kidding me, Mema-ka.'

'God forbid you have an original thought in your head, Mema-ka. Oh, wait. Lets put Elora in command if you go down. Brilliant one there, Genius.'

'You're an idiot, Mema-ka and you're going to get us all killed. How fucking dare you talk to me about folly when you're an ambitious fool.'

'we're not going to survive if we fall apart like this. We need to stay unified. You can't be ambitious like this, not now. Think. Think!'

'We need to unify, and stay together. We're going to fall apart if we can't stay together. Calm down, Arrish. Think for once.'

. . .

'Fine. Lead us down into the darkest circles of hell, Virgil.'

Arrish's thoughts coalesced through various degrees of anger before centering on a cold and icy point. No matter what he thought or felt he deserved it was all a bunch of nothing to the ultimate end goal. If Team Apple was going to survive this encounter it needed to be unified and held together. Not with the cheap metaphorical tape of hope or the hot fires of passion, but through the steel of unity. He put aside all his thoughts and desires and through an angry voice would reply in kind.

"Alright, Mema-ka. I hear you loud and clear. You're in charge here, so lead us through hell, commander." He wondered if Mema-ka would be their metaphorical Virgil and lead them through the dark circles of hell. 'Heh, I guess this isn't exactly an inferno. Team Mango are no devils, but they fight like one...'

Arrish then saw the drone coming for him and tried to course correct, but it was too late. He pulled his assault rifle towards the direction of the oncoming drone but it was highly unlikely to hit something that small without aiming for it. He held his breathe and began to move his framewerk in the opposite direction but there was no time to clear it and move away. He cursed himself for being so careless and getting lost in thought.

'God fucking dammit.'

Nerves In Carbonox Reforged: A Roll-Your-Own Giant Mecha Roleplay

Arrish Duval

Neither will alone nor strength alone will be enough.

---

"Team Apple, listen up, this Arrish Duval taking direct command." Horst leaned up against the wall and handled the Heavy Assault RIfle in both of its hands, keeping the weapon close. The Horst had always been a heavy framewerk but without the Bastion anymore she was still exposed at all sides. "Aurora's last command was emotionally compromised before going KIA, so we're going to do something different, do you hear me? Follow me and we might just come out of this alive." He knew he was stepping on dangerous territory, but he trusted that Mema-ka would fall in line with him and they could still make it out of this with something that resembled team work.

Everyone here was trying their best. At least, that's what Arrish wanted to believe. Their had been sacrifices on both sides of this battlefield, with Serah sending her framewerk plummeting from the sky like a soaring eagle and making her death mark onto Rhylaen. Jake had died doing his duty, rushing down Mother Goose —a framewerk that he surely had no chance of defeating alone— with the salvaged remains of Atty in his hands. Aurora and Stella had made the greatest sacrifices yet, going down in a blaze of beautiful glory before taking out one another. Whereas Stella had taken revenge on Team Apple for harming the little ones, it was what had happened to Aurora that felt unfair.

He thought about what he knew of her. She was dedicated to her machine, Sleeping Thunder, and adored all the framewerks in their own way. She loathed the Cruxi menace for whatever it was they had taken from her and in her moments of virtual death what did he hear? A woman that spoke with words cold as ice, her kind heart broken and shattered in her belief that she had been betrayed by her team. Even if this was a virtual mission, a contest to showcase their skills, wasn't that reaction extreme? But then again, they had betrayed her. Not because Team Apple was manipulative or scheming, but because they had failed her vision. Instead of acting like a team, they were scattered across the winds with no semblance of the plan that Aurora had laid out for them. Arrish felt her pain. He understood that one person alone wasn't enough. That strength and will alone weren't enough. One needed to have both, but more than that, they needed each other. He hoped that would start with Mema-ka falling in line with his plan. Maybe if they could unify, even now, they could still pull victory.

Horst started to move along the wall of the building and its massive footfalls crumbled the virtual stonework with every step. Even so, Arrish moved his framewerk carefully, as though every step would be his last. "Raptor, I want you with me. We're going to advance on Argent Wing and take her down. I want you to lay down suppressive fire while I advance into her. If we're lucky she'll take the bait." He didn't add what both of them already knew; That if Argent Wing didn't fire onto Horst then Raptor was going to be in serious trouble, especially with all the damage the frame had already taken. It was a gambit, but if they could take out Argent Wing, that only left Argo and Cockroach as the final threats.

Horst peaked its head around the corner and could see Argent Wing retreating in the distance. He had to take action now! Before the opportunity was lost and so were their chances at winning at all of this. The unknowns danced along his thoughts like a paranoid fly and he asked himself 'What can Guinevere still do, and how much danger am I in?' and another bubbling thought surfaced. 'Bug is still alive; What am I doing? What if he has a clear shot on me? What if he goes berserk and kills us all?' but he pushed away those thoughts, and those fears. Most of them were useless now anyways, and a soldier couldn't afford to weigh himself down with fear. There was just one other thought, one relevant thought, that surfaced into his mind.

Argo couldn't just be allowed to get away. If someone didn't put down that hound of war they were going to be in trouble, but lucky for them the best man for the job was already there. Still, Arrish couldn't help but think that Griff needed something more, maybe a little push or nudge in the right direction. Revenge... Anger. That was something everyone in the squad, both Mango and Apple could use to fuel their final moments. "Shiva, remember what I said. Argo's dangerous, and more so while wounded. Take her down, soldier. Take revenge. Take her down for every one of us that she's hurt."

[Knight to P24]

Horst came bursting out of the corner in quick motion with the heavy assault rifle raised and aimed in the direction of Argent Wing. The bullets fired in rapid succession with a pap pap pap that echoed across the battlefield. This was for everyone, he thought to himself, this was for everyone that sacrificed themselves up to this moment and when Horst went down, she would go down fighting.

Nerves In Carbonox Reforged: A Roll-Your-Own Giant Mecha Roleplay

Arrish & Seven

With all the general S.O.S. going on two fronts, Ari then heard Seven's monotone voice.

"Situation critical. Dragonfly and Logic Diver require assistance. Divide suggested. Cadet Ari. Positions are closest. Requesting your target."

Arrish felt flooded with decisons all around him. He could stay there, like planned, and help protect Sleepy from the encroaching enemy, but then there was Elora... the crackle of her voice over the radio, and the pain of hearing the failure in her voice. It was just too much for a man of his standing to ignore.

Then, even worse, as he was about to make a decision, Atty had crash landed into Dragonfly. He wanted to hesitate, to freeze and roll up into a ball. He couldn't just ignore Atty's display like that, but if Elora went down then they would lose their comms... and on a battlefield, communication was everything.

"Roger that, Cadet Jake. Take on Atty and protect Electric Dragonfly, I'll go after Logic Driver." Horst looked towards Angel Zero, made a nod with it's 'head' before readying a position and leaping into the air.

Hyrdaulics crunched into the virtual pavement and steam vented from the framewerks legs before, a second time, a framewerk would take itself up into the skies above with a powerful leap.

Then another message from Seven as Angel Zero nodded back but the message seemed to hit close to home from Ari.

"Don't hesitate. Act then accept the consequences."

Arrish smiled at the comment, and felt half twisted by it. Had Jake known about his family's history? On the one hand, it was advice that he had desperately needed to hear and yet...
Well, it didn't matter now. Arrish was... maybe on his own. It depend if this Banana character was going to turn heel on Team Apple.

[Knight to T-23]

---

Arrish Duval

𝓓𝓸 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓫𝓮𝓵𝓲𝓮𝓿𝓮 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮 𝓬𝓪𝓷 𝓫𝓵𝓸𝓸𝓶, 𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓷 𝓸𝓷 𝓪 𝓫𝓪𝓽𝓽𝓵𝓮𝓯𝓲𝓮𝓵𝓭?

---

The framewerk came crashing down onto the virtual stone with a loud crash, and the mighty Horst would take its bastion with both hands and have it come slamming down just before what was left of Logic driver. Arrish spat, and mounted his Heavy Assault gun onto the newly formed wall and prepared to fire. "Elora, you darling girl, don't you think for a moment that I'm going to let anything happen to you. Keep those comms up, they're the only thing keeping Team Apple from going silent. Can your arms work? If they can, don't let up the pain."

Arrish swiveled the gun placement in front of him and took aim at the nearest target, Argo. Armor piercing shots rang from the cylinder of his Heavy Assault gun as it took aim onto the dangerous framewerk in front of him. Arrish spat his luck, did he just jump into the firing line? Well, at least there were pretty girls.

That didn't mean all his focus was on Argo, he decided on something else too. Lucius had just opened up a big place in his heart with how he opened up fire onto Team Mango, and he wasn't going to just let that go unrewarded. He opened up a channel, his heavy assault gun still firing and following Argo around. "Hey, Sterling, I just decided that you're on Team Apple now. If you can get all three of us out of this alive, than I'll treat you to lunch sometime, how about that for payment? No homo."

Nerves In Carbonox Reforged: A Roll-Your-Own Giant Mecha Roleplay

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."

Nerves In Carbonox Reforged: A Roll-Your-Own Giant Mecha Roleplay

"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.

Nerves In Carbonox Reforged: A Roll-Your-Own Giant Mecha Roleplay

Arrish Duval

"This hand of mine is burning red! It's loud roar tells me to grasp victory!"

---

Arrish leaned back in a chair and swirled around a glass of red wine in one of his hands. His thoughts had been of the upcoming battle and whether he was truly prepared for it. They had talked plans and strengths vs weaknesses but nothing could ever compare to being out there on the field of battle. It tested the strength of their spears, and the willingness to push through even when odds turned against them. Everyone would be at their best out there and without anything to hold them back save their own reservations or doubts. He considered his opponents, what would they stop at to win, and what standards would they be willing to break if it meant victory? Did he see those same odds in team apple? He downed the last of his wine and stood up, dressing himself and his mind for battle.

---

"This is the Horst Mark 7 online, weapons are hot and guns primed." The Horst held her multiform rod by her side and did the salute with her other hand before positioning herself into a posture that was meant for battle instead of parade marches. Arrish fanned over the image that had popped up on his screen and let out a barking laugh, thankful that he had managed to turn off his comms before guffawing at the edited image that bug had produced. He couldn't help himself, after all he had something very similiar to show off.

"Bug, I love the work you did there but you don't have to be so shy. Everyone knows what the real OTP is." He hit a few buttons on the console and produced an equally edited image, this time it had been Arrish and Astolfo wearing their noble duds in the middle of a dance, Bugatti had been dipped over like the true princess he was with Arrish's mouth hovering over his. If this was the game that Bug wanted to play, then the noble was all for it. Arrish didn't mind the reputation it had earned him because well, it wasn't true, but it did earn him a lot of attention and attraction from the ladies outside of his squad and seeing those flustered and floundering faces did wonders for his ego.

He paused a moment longer before replying over comms. "Now that the disinfo is over we should focus on adjusting our plan to the environment. I'm no thinking it needs to change much but those buildings are going to be in the way of our guns, and we'll have to look out for surprise charges" he paused before adding."I want to get on one of those buildings too, if you think they'll hold up my framewerk, and take some pot shots at our enemy before they really get into range of our guns. Thoughts anyone?"

This is where we'll learn what our team mates are like on the battlefield, he added as he thought, but not where we'll really be tested. That's going to be when we're deep in a mission and things start going wrong. Who we really are, and what we're willing to do to win will really begin to shine. Still, his thoughts trailed on, everyone's going to show their best and I'm not going to stand down until I'm beaten battered and broken.

Nerves In Carbonox Reforged: A Roll-Your-Own Giant Mecha Roleplay

He kept his tongue bit down as everyone talked. He wasn't really done talking with Griff but it sounded like the young man had enough talking. "I had a younger brother who died, my twin actually, younger only by a few minutes." Arrish turned to look at Aurora while he continued talking, not wanting to keep his gaze focused on Griff."I'll keep it brief, but I just want to remind you that everyone's lost someone here. My attitude? It's not because I'm noble; It's because I can't stand to watch someone get attacked, especially when they can't or won't protect themselves."

He pushed up his sunglasses a bit more and looked away from both of them, directing his focus somewhere on a nearby wall where he didn't have to be around those prying eyes. Mentally he cursed himself for getting emotional during a meeting. He had already done all his crying over his brother and that was years ago. He steeled himself and focused back on the words Aurora had said after his initial talk with Griff.

"Your plan sounds solid, Aurora. I've gone over some of the general strengths and weaknesses already so instead I'll remind everyone that this is a full team vs team skirmish, we're not out until each and every one of us is down unless Lorenzo makes the call. This means even if Sleepy goes down in the fight we haven't lost, and the same goes for Shiva. The Cruxi won't stop until every single one of us is dead or we make a tactical retreat. We should assume that the same will go for Team Mango."

He paused for a moment before adding. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm not really planning on giving Team Mango an easy time. We give them hell and we'll go down fighting to the very last. Hoorah!"

Nerves In Carbonox Reforged: A Roll-Your-Own Giant Mecha Roleplay

There were a lot of words that Arrish wanted to shout down Griff's throat. He wanted to correct him on the word peer because it meant equal, not the damn fruit. He wanted to yell and scream that his defense of Rhylaen came from being quiet before, because he had given Griff the benefit of the doubt. He wanted to bite and scratch and hiss at Griff for bringing up Arrish's heritage as a noble, because that had nothing to do with why he was shouting at the blonde right now and everything to do with how Griff wasn't taking things seriously.

Arrish bit down his tongue and put his arms to his sides and just stared at Griff while trying to find the words while listening to Griff's story about his friends, and how a plan of theirs fell apart at the first sign of battle.

His features softened though his eyes remained hard. He got it. He really did, everyone here had stories of people they were missing and friends they couldn't see anymore. The war had taken its toll onto everyone. That didn't mean he was okay with watching Griff ignore half of everything that was being said and mistreating Rhylaen. He lowered his eyes and finally he spoke in a much quieter tone."Your friends, what were their names?"

Nerves In Carbonox Reforged: A Roll-Your-Own Giant Mecha Roleplay

Arrish found himself glaring at Griff after that proclamation and half-assed apology sent towards Rhylaen. The noble pushed back his seat and stood up from his seat.

"Griffith Burnhardt!" His voice took on a tone of authority and he found himself walking, almost stomping towards where the blonde had been standing."You are a full member of this squad and a peer of Team Apple. He wrenched a fist on Griff's collar."You were brought here because of your capability in combat and your potential as a soldier. Not because you can play around on your phone or be racist to equal members of our squad. You are required to focus on the mission parameters, and treat every member of our squad equal measures of respect.

He released Griff and straightened out his back "I need you to focus on our plans, Griffith, and not treat it as a video game. Some day soon people are going to be relying on you, and if you don't pay attention or miss an important detail those people may die. Furthermore, I'm sick of you mistreating Rhylaen. She is your peer and an equal member of this squad. She is deserving of your full respect and shouldn't be compared to a Cruxi in any order of magnitude. Do you understand me?

Arrish clenched and un-clenched his fists and could feel his teeth grinding together. He had given Griff the benefit of the doubt twice now, and wouldn't suffer a third.