Great! The wing nailed them. Now all the younger pilot had to do was kick off and have Sigma fire and it's... Wait, what is Ian doing? Serah quickly realised he was about to put all that kinetic energy into a final blow, something that would SURELY render her permanently offline were it to hit! Thinking quick she aimed the right thrust on Anubis' chest, letting out a faint "sorry". The other wing he used as a shield moved in to intercept the attack while all thrusters quickly were set to max. Anubis' attack managed to completely SHATTER her last line of protection, but it slowed down the attack enough to just graze the foot of Atty, the rest of the mech being out of range...

'ERROR. ERROR. ALL THRUSTERS OFFLINE. ERROR. ERROR.' Great, Serah turned into a sitting duck. "Sigma! Elore! I'm stuck, can't move! I'll need to reboot my Mech's movement systems and repair damages manually! Cover me!" After shouting that through the intercom Serah turned off all call logs and started furiously hammering the controls, then moving farther inside of her mech to repair any damage she couls.

"Hm" Sera somberly expressed her annoyance upon seeing the shot not being as effective as she initially thought. Still Serah and Ian were locked in that battle, and Sigma was just busy reloading the rifle, while taking notice of all the datafeed Elora was giving. Ian was fighting an uphill battle. And cornered soldiers were prone to last att...Hell no! Sigma braced herself, seeing how Ian was for a final bout focusing on all offense. She grimaced, starting her Jetpack. "DAMN!" She let out a slight course through the intercomm. One of her team was down, but then the communication came.

"Don't worry, Serah. You earned the cake. Elora, cover us and follow us." She added, as the power of the jetpack thruster roared, giving a distinctive signature, before being propelled at space-travel speeds towards Serah, grabbing the frame in the process and then speeding towards the ruins. "It's a good think this frame has options for salvage and rescue operations."

Elora screamed once she saw what Ian did before his Framewerk collapsed. "Look out! Serah! SERAH! Stop firing!" She had her drones retreat from the scene, only to see it was too late: Serah's Framewerk was down. "S-Serah! Are you o-okay?" She started stuttering again, which was a sign of her starting to panic. However, she calmed down when she heard Serah respond. She was still alive, and Elora breathed deep. She then heard Ian congratulating them over a separate channel. "I'm sorry Ian," she responded before she switched back to the Strawberry channel.

"Roger," Elora responded to Sigma's words once Comet picked up Serah's Frame, and had her drones surround the three of them as they flew in the direction of the ruins together.
"Activate Scanning Mode." Her drones then started to scan Serah's Framewerk for structural damage, transmitting any results they found to the three of them while Elora kept vigilant watch around them.
"She's sustained serious structural damage to her Frame's thrusters and leg motors, with lesser damage to numerous sub-systems. This looks bad," Elora added, her anxiety shining through the intercom. However, she did her best in keeping her composure, since she didn't want to let them down during their time of crisis. She trusted in Sigma to have some kind of plan.

She raised her tear stained face upon hearing the sounds of combat somewhere.

Sniffing, Utano wiped the tears from her face, and held the lever, her mech moving jerkily up to a standing position. It sounded too close for her comfort, so once again, she moved AGAS further away from the center.

She was silent now, her music having been muted after her brief episode of uncontrollable crying, screaming and and a moment of irrational anger. Picking up her crumpled hat from the floor, she dusted it off and carefully put it on her head again. It was kinda funny in a way, she had just now resigned herself to just dying, and here she was still trying to avoid it.

She laughed at that, a genuine laugh for the first time in a long while.

This time, she found herself in a field of large pillars, the roof they supported long gone. It was... tranquil to say the least, one where she would had have written up a song on the spot and called in a crew to shoot the PV immediately.

"I'd call it Heartless Daybreak."

This was it. She wouldn't be running anymore. If there was ever a place she would pick to die in, it would be this place.

"Ah! Zanny~!" hummed Lorenzo as he spoke to Zan as he watched Anubis fall to the combined efforts of team Strawberry Shortcake. "Sorry, I was getting some sweets actually to answer you right away. Seems that the impatient ones started fighting before I could announce the fight and I got all riled up... that'll hurt their score for sure, but that's fine," he grinned as he watched from afar with a pair of binoculars. Disabling Anubis and Atty with his special device, Lorenzo radio'd in over the battlefield intercom.

"Due to the damages sustained both Serah and Ian have been disqualified, especially trigger finger Serah here who apparently started the fight without my permission. Naughty girl~! I wont punish the others, the fight has officially started. The altitude limit is the atmosphere, and upon taking what I deem suitable damage I will disable your Framewerks like I have done now. Do put up a good fight now~!

"I think that answered your question! Oh, and Zanny boy, you have full permission to use your hidden abilities... Bonus points for taking out three Framewerks within its time limit buddy!" laughed Lorenzo as he watched the finished fight with full-blown excitement.

Serah chimed into strawberry again. "Ehehe... Sorry girls. My bad. Seems like I'm out."

With the announcement that the trials were about to begin, Iskander wasted no time in making his way to the hanger. Dutifully, he disrobed from his usual garments (a traditional Lemurian warrior’s garb, complete with crimson cloak), and changed into his attire for battle.  The uniform was tight and extremely form-fitting, Iskander found, which he supposed was helpful in combat, though he found its otherwise utilitarian nature to be underwhelming. The uniform was simply black in color, with some white accents, and no other ornamentation. He kept his braided hair as it was to add just a bit of pomp to his appearance. It suited a warrior to appear in ways greater than a lesser man.

All the while, the colossus A3ON loomed above him. Its steely form was awe-inspiring to Iskander, and he was greatly thankful for the opportunity to ride into combat within such a terrifying construct of science and sorcery. Iskander climbed into the cockpit, connected the ports of his uniform to the corresponding interfaces, and set his hands on the controls. A highly complex, yet intuitive navigational system, the movements of Iskander’s arms, hands and all ten of his fingers coordinated into controlling the titan of fire and ice whose breast he dwelt within. Iskander began the ritual to animate A3ON.

“From the hate-scorched sky…”

The screens and ports displaying A3ON’s status and functions illuminated. The spell matrix that controlled the mundane and needlessly complex operations of the giant sprung to life, allowing Iskander to focus on A3ON’s primary service: battle.

“With righteous anger in our hearts…”

A3ON’s primary power source was igniting. Its two hearts, the battling cores of a dead star and a blazing supernova, began their dance deeper within its metal body. The entirety of the great machine thrummed with power as azoth coursed through its veins.

“We call forth the sword that smites evil…”

The dual swords and twin cannons of A3ON were alive as their master, already surging with the same divine power that fueled the demon artifact itself.

“Thou art the innocent blade…”

Its hearts roaring steadily and armaments prepared, A3ON was nearly entirely awakened. The excessive power and force generated by its core was channeled through to its wings, preparing them to thrust the colossus into battle.

“Machine God: A3ON!”

With a final, screeching roar of cataclysmic power, the man-made god A3ON had come to life once more. With the word from his superiors to begin the sortie, Iskander blasted out of the hanger, riding on a wave of hellfire. The battle was already underway. Iskander watched as the jackal-headed machine was torn apart three different angles by a cooperating trio. Though it took one down with it, the remaining two were particularly dangerous. The sniper Iskander particularly did not like, as he knew how dangerous superior range was on the battlefield. However, the other machine could prove to be a vulnerability in their alliance. A sniper always needed a spotter, after all.

Noting their respective positions, Iskander took a long route around the scanning robot and the sniping robot, using the ruins as cover. He kept A3ON’s footfalls to a minimum, mostly skirting along the ground with his wings, and primarily using ITHAQUA’s core to propel him, keeping his heat signature low. He just needed to get in range, and then the scanner would be his.

Iskander was in position quite quickly, choosing his stance to put the scanner between himself and the sniper, should his cover fail. Iskander then prepared his assault, while he still had the element of surprise. Using the delay-fire modes of his twin cannons’ magnetic shielding, he crafted a toroid of hot plasma, then cold plasma, then another slug of hot plasma, arranging all into concentric  circles. He then released the shielding on the toroids, allowing them to collide, and fired the slug.

With that, all subtlety Iskander had previously utilized vanished. The colliding superhot and supercool plasmas sublimated the atmosphere surrounding the slug, both creating a miniature sub-nuclear explosion and enveloping the slug in a vacuum. The result of which, propelling the star-like orb of ionic matter at supersonic speed toward Iskander’s target, the scanner.

The blast at the source was astounding, which unfortunately very clearly designated Iskander’s position. A3ON crouched behind its leg shields, unharmed by the blast, as the seemingly obtrusive structures were designed to protect it from its own attacks. Knowing that his position was now compromised, he strafed in the direction that he predicted the scanner would then maneuver, judging by the density of the obstacles in the area. With any luck, he could find a new position to attack from, and still keep the scanner between himself and the sniper.

Having kept constant guard around their surroundings, Elora felt like they were being watched. And the information specialist was right: she noted a red dot on the 3d-map she constructed previously moving closer to their position, but in a really roundabout way, confusing her as to his motivations for doing so. She did notice that she wasn't getting an energy reading at all, having to rely on the sonar to track its movement.
"There's an enemy unit moving around us, Sigma. It looks like it's-" Her words were cut short when she noticed the massive spike in her energy readings.

She turned around, and saw the Framewerk suddenly appearing and shooting some kind of high-energy missile. She had no time to dodge at this point, but there was one command she did yell as a trained reflex: "Drone Wall!" Her Data Drones immediately formed a defensive barrier around her, and they absorbed the enemy blast, completely sublimating them into the atmosphere by the resulting impact. She was left unscathed, but she now lost her drones, cutting her scanning ability by a major percentage. She was left to using her personal scanner, which was only effective at melee distance.

She started panicking for real this time, not even deep breathing helping with the issue this time. However, she then remembered she had complete Framewerk data, thanks to Serah's sacrifice, and thus could triple her scanning speed by having the Combat Analzyer simply gloss over repeating data, and focus on the new info. Framewerks were much like humans where every human had distinctive differences, but they all shared the same biological function and form, and thus she could still collect data from the Framewerk at a pace where it would matter.

However, there was still the issue that her personal scanner had such a short range. Then an idea popped up in Elora's head; it was the kind of idea that her usually shy self would never act upon, and her mind did warn her against doing that.

You could be torn to shreds, you don't have the data to know if it's worth the risk.

But then, as a flash of inspiration, she remembered Sigma's words: "Your confidence is low, but your spirit is great."
She made a short message to Sigma: "Get ready to shoot." She then activated her jet booster and all her anti-grav projectors, and charged at full speed towards the enemy Framewerk. He may have been expecting her to try to move evasively, since it was a known stereotype that scanners were not fit for butting in. But this time she was going to do it. She was scared inside, definitely. But she trusted in her higher level armor and agility to keep her constantly in close proximity to the enemy. She didn't know if the enemy had some kind of hidden melee weapon ready to use in case someone got close, but based on what she saw it was less dangerous than staying as a firing range target for it to shoot superpowered weaponry at.

"My confidence is low, but my spirit is great! my confidence is low...BUT MY SPIRIT IS GREAT!"

Once she charged in and tackled the enemy unit, she began immediately scanning, and once she got enough data for the command, she activated it by shouting: "ENEMY UNIT SPOTTED!" She also got a couple of its weak points scanned and transmitted in the short time they were in contact.

Before Takeo even had time to face the sounds of the carnage that erupted nearby, a canine-looking Framewerk went down in a storm of bullets and plasma. He heard Ian's voice over comms, and identified the machine as the Anubis, knocked out of the fight in a three-pronged attack. The XO confirmed his thoughts. Damn it, Takeo thought. How can I prove anything if I can't even protect my comrades from a slaughter?

Something about the formation of the other units bothered him. Teamwork? Takeo thought he had heard Ian say as much. It could have been coincidence, but it certainly looked like they were working together. He felt himself growing angry.

"Cheap tactics," Takeo said over the main channel. But you can't take me out that easily!

A ferocious explosion suddenly drowned out his thoughts, vaporizing several drones nearby one of the Framewerks. The ordinance involved set Takeo to sweating. I can handle bullets, maybe, but that kind of hit would hurt anyone. He found the attention of the other two units now focused on the newcomer. Maybe I can even the odds, form an alliance and deal with that power later. He nodded to himself, smiling. It was time to engage.

"Hey, explosion guy!" Takeo spoke on the main channel, hoping to grab the pilot's attention. "Iron Sparrow here. Let's take out this team first, and have ourselves a fair fight!" He pushed his thrusters to full output, charging forward across the terrain toward the Framewerk with a long rifle. He hoped his prospective teammate would see his support and agree to help.

Let's see how you do in close quarters, sniper! Takeo held his blade across his body, speeding toward his target as he began a devastating horizontal slash at the Frame's torso.

@Dead Cruiser
@AtomicNut

Sigma bit her nail. Everything had gone to hell. Her team had started before time, and lost a frame in a futile struggle, down to Elora and her now. Doing such a thing and even still failing. I might die of embarrassment of this.She thought while pondering the situation. Sooner or later, other frameworks would catch their position. Frankly, to be honest, It was going to be a hell to endure.

Elora's action was inspiring. With such little coaxing, she had fiercely charged on some sort of explosion guy. She felt reassured. But then, another mecha pounced, making Elora's action moot. Worse, it was one of the top heavy frames. Damn, sorry. This all was my fault.

"Run away, Elora." Sigma said blandly as she saw the new guy sweeping with force at her. She shot the slug hurriedly at the center of mass, before discarding the rifle...

...and bringing her plasma cutter, which she held in a counterattack to cut the steel blade, as she jumped with her thrusters to at least avoid damage. If it didn't work It'd probably lose her legs. But better the legs than the fight.Know what? That hulking brute is not the only guy with plasma.

Before the battle even officially begun, two mechs were already destroying one another right out of the fight; and, much to Ant's glee, they just happened to be Anubis and Atty. Ant whooped loudly in his cockpit, having enjoyed watching the spectacle from a longer distance, in his own submerged corner of boulders and a stagnant basin. Hah! Looks like they couldn't wait to destroy each other. All the better for me, Ant thought. And yet, he couldn't help but admire what he saw. The pilots were beginning to prove more formidable than Ant first anticipated, with Serah, Sigma, and Elora's coordination, alongside Ian's sheer willpower.

In fact, the feeling was growing even moreso for those remaining. His only worries that remained were the larger, slower mechs; however, Ant was beginning to realize that they did come with their own, in not bigger, challenges. While slower in movement and action, they certainly hit harder than their faster counterparts (as the opposite effects in both cases applied with Perry, as well). Many of these mechs could crush him with as much as two blows if he didn't see it coming, a few of them in even one if they hit him just right. But Ant was confident (perhaps overly so) that his unmatched speed would be enough to dodge most attacks.

He would certainly have a handful if he attempted dealing with Elora and Sigma on his own, as they made quick work of Ian in a flashy blaze; they were clearly working together. Sigma might have been more robot than human in Ant's mind, but it was very clear that she was not a mind to trifle with, having made an early (and evidently effective) alliance with one of the most useful pilots for her needs.

His true worries lied in the three mechs Ant couldn't account for having seen yet on the battlefield; Zan's, Korie's, and... the girl dressed like an idol. She was so reclusive that she didn't even share her name. He knew it was wise for them to wait it out; but he also knew it was cowardly. After a moment of indecisiveness, Ant resolved to make his move. He no longer cared about the strategic benefits of waiting it out; he was beginning to grow restless and, motivated by his peers, wanted to show the rest of them just what damage he could do. If they aren't going to come to me, I'll just have to reel them in myself, Ant concluded. But he knew he needed an in. He would be out of the fight in a moment without a distraction...

...and just like that, it seemed two of them slipped out of hiding to tackle the imposing sniper-spotter duo. One mech made what looked to Ant like a massive energy blast right towards the spotter, which managed to fend to itself quite surprisingly and, to Ant's even greater astonishment, actually charged the source of the imposing blast. A wide smile grew on Ant's face. I may have been wrong about you, little mouse, Ant thought. Then Ant caught a glimpse of the large, tank-like abomination, charging straight for the sniper.

Ant's smile grew even wider; they were all convening in a large mass for him; he didn't even have to do any work. Well then, there isn't a better moment than the present, Ant yelled with a great laugh; all the while, Perry was positioning itself in its Sprinter stance, its thrusters revving even louder than before. His laughing grew louder, but it was a pleasant, happy laughter; he was actually having fun, for once. Regaining his composure, his smile turned into a cheek to cheek grin: he rowed forward with his arms, pushing forward with all his might.

And with that, Perry dashed forward with transendent speed, leaving a massive gust of dirt in his wake, heading straight into the current thick of battle. He was quite pleased to see them all pre-occupied with one another. Without much of a warning on Ant's end, Ant appeared swiftly in suitable range. At a safe distance, he shifted his sprint to face them parallel opposed to straight ahead. Perry gave them a mock salute while still running. "Hey guys!" Ant exclaimed sarcastically over his intercomm; he proceeded to pull out his pistols, aiming in all four's general vicinity. They were inaccurate, of course; but without doubt, the results would be hellfire.

Perry began its barrage.

As Takeo approached Sigma, and as Elora approached Iskander... time moved fairly slowly at the two spots.

Click...

Subtle. Subtle little mechanisms could be detected as Elora got close to Iskander, until her Frame's foot triggered a wire next to a smokescreen of sorts that soon enveloped the entirety of both Iskander and herself. Although, the cloud itself wasn't that very useful to hide them, both Iskander and Elora would soon find that their Frameworks would start behaving oddly, and that there were static flakes in the smoke.

As for where Sigma and Takeo were at, Takeo's Sparrow trigger a similar trap, although it was series of explosives that promptly sunk both Sigma's and Takeo's Mech down into the old underground train supply railroad a few floors down. It would seem that someone had laid traps down before the fight had started.

"Sir... aren't those Cadet Antwon's handiwork?" asked Ritsu as she frowned. "How did he have the timed to do all that...?"

"I did say that they had about 10 minutes till the fight starts for preparations or whatever else... While Sigma, Serah, and Elora formed a team, he placed traps all over the ruins and city," cackled Lorenzo with much amusement. "I think it's fair to make use of one's resources, no? Anyway, I think things have just gotten much more interesting... That smoke covering both Elora's and Iskander's mech will be making with weapons effectively useless for few minutes, kinda like a subtle EMP... useful toy I invented if I do say so myself."

"Isn't that a bit cheating...?"

"Like three on one isn't~?"

"Hmph..."

"Be more carefree lieutenant, and enjoy the chaos! Sigma and Takeo are now underground... so we can't really see what they're up to... but I have a feeling things will only get far more interesting from here on out... Oh, and would you like some cake~?"

"...No thank you," groaned Ritsu as she turned on the mock battle area cameras in from a nearby panel and began viewing.

Takeo knew he was not fast. Still, he had not expected the sniper to shoot at him with such a closure. The barrel was brought to his chest, and Takeo smiled. He was off to a good start.

He begun sword's relentless arc, but he did not anticipate the bullet's path. With a crack that echoed through the ruins, the cannon's massive projectile slammed into Iron Sparrow's wrist, ricocheting off before glancing against his breastplate. The impact negated the force of Takeo's swing, nearly turning his body in the process. A wicked surge of pain shot through his arm and he cried out.

"RIGHT ARM 50% DAMAGE. CORE 10% DAMAGE." The automated voice matched the status screen's display.

It's not my arm, it's not real! Eyes wet, he pressed onward in anger and desperation, redoubling the slash. He turned his body with the blade, striking out, but his opponent had dropped their weapon and leapt away. The massive sword caught the Framewerk's legs at a bad angle, glancing off without penetrating, but sending the sniper into a furious spin. Takeo brought his arms up together above hid head, slashing down with all his weight in a combination attack.

Sigma gritted her teeth upon the impact. The world seemed to spin, and then explode everything around. Yes, hell was just starting for her. Probably more of the other frameworks joining the fray. When the numbers and the cockpit stopped spinning, she had found several things. One, her mech was a barely working wreck. Two, she had only the plasma cutter. She felt like puking. Still, she gritted her teeth and stood up. She opened an intercom to the other mech that was tangled up.

"Better you than those braggarts of Ant, Korie or Ian." Sigma said to Takeo in a channel."Strike me down to get brownie points. Maybe you can make a comeback." Sigma conceded, and awaiting the finishing blow."If you can climb up."

"He's here..."

Korie, who has been following the underground supply route from using their Framewerk's shockwave ability and paying attention to the intercom and listening to what has been going on above, finally stopped and looked up as they heard a subtle laughter and a volley of gunfire. "Takeo, help the bird get back on its wings would you?" they said referring to Sigma as they raised their hand towards the ceiling, and promptly shot forward their arm's stake straight towards one of Perry's legs from underneath before using a full-blown Shockwave. It wouldn't matter if the roof would collapse on top of them, Korie's Framework was built to withstand such things despite its build due to its armor and unique joints and pendulums.

"Antwon, sorry for this, but your opponent is me for now," murmured Korie on the local comms link as they began their surprise attack from below unto Perry and Antwon.

The feeling of weightlessness occurred simultaneously to several white-hot pinpricks in his back. Before he realized what was happening, Takeo's Frame slammed hard into ancient earth and stone, and his jaws snapped together from the impact.

"SHIELD 17% DAMAGE. LEG RIGHT 7% DAMAGE. SHIELD 21% DAMAGE. LEG LEFT 13% DAMAGE. SHIELD 25% DAMAGE." Iron Sparrow's console exploded with a storm of lights and sounds, bringing Takeo out of his battle haze. He sat up in the cockpit, trying to make sense of the readings. The continuous damage to his back plate had stabilized, but he had no idea who had hit him. Was someone leeching me? Or...some kind of acid? He pulled a series of interfaces and stood Iron Sparrow from its crouched position.

"How did I end up in here?" The dust from the fall was settling, and he found himself in a massive crater. He also noticed that he was not alone, and his opponent, the sniper, was rising before him. "Ground must have been unstable," Takeo said, sliding back into position for battle.

To his surprise, his opponent made no hint of attack, despite the plasma blade in their hand.

"Better you than those braggarts of Ant, Korie or Ian," a female voice came through his audio feed. "Strike me down to get brownie points. Maybe you can make a comeback. If you can climb up."

Takeo recognized the frequency signature of the Comet Sigma, pilot Sigma. A very unnerving girl, face never moving from stern composure. He was surprised at her surrender. He would have expected someone like Sigma to strike with unwavering purpose.

A thought struck him, then. This was a mock battle, but fighting was not Iron Sparrow's only purpose on the field. As if reading his mind, the frequency signature of Aester, Takeo's new friend Korie, came through on the main channel.

"Takeo, help the bird get back on its wings, would you?"

He was not sure how Korie had meant it, but he quickly input general impact repair algorithms to his drones and targeted Comet Sigma's frequency. Thousands of small machines filled the air, drifting gently toward the other Framewerk.

"Don't worry," Takeo said. "This won't hurt." He realized it might be confusing, so he spoke before Sigma had a chance to question his motives. "They said they wanted to see how we do in combat, right? Well, this is one of my combat functions, and it's not any less important." Letting his drones go to work, Takeo surveyed the area. "Maybe you can help me come up with a way out of here."

Sigma bit her nail. She didn't want to make of Korie. What the hell was that guy...girl, up to? Acting condescent, yet being somewhat lenient at times. Still, the words seemed to have an effect on Takeo's poise. He then began to repair her framewerk. Well, maybe someone of those has leading qualities after all.

Still, Sigma kept the channel open. "Combat skill isn't all what it takes to make a good soldier. They've been spying on our demeanour and how we treat others and react to events before battle. My guess is that they will take those in account when choosing a leader." Sigma said. "Some of the others were salivating at the prospect of combat and choosing a leader. But those, in my opinion would've made poor choices. So I bribed other two pilots with cake. No point in hiding it now." She then started to perform surefire tests of the restored backpack booster.

"Also, this framewerk, the Comet, has a secondary function." Sigma said in a reassuring tune. "Salvage and Rescue. That's why I have a plasma cutter. My jetpack will carry us up. So I'll wait for you to try and repair your systems once I'm done."

It was a truly, truly, glorious sight for Ant to behold. His eyes welled with tears in pure joy: the flames, the dust, the carnage he created... it was a pure work of art.

He only assumed that his mines were compromised from their lack of earlier activation, but it was all the more perfect that they triggered right on his moment of attack; it was one hell of a fireworks display, and for those still out of the fight, it would certainly indicate the center of action. Smart enough to keep moving, Ant chuckled to himself, feeling completely unstoppable. Upon Ant's request, his cockpit contained a speaker system that would rival only the greatest of concerts; he took it upon himself to put his comm system on Speaker Mode, so as everyone could enjoy his taste in music.

Ant spoke loudly on the intercomm as well, so as to make certain everyone could hear: "Hello, hello, hello! Welcome, everyone, to Antwon's little corner of Hell! As you have probably witnessed, I have made this modest arena my home! And it has made some lovely work with the majority of you. As for those of you hiding about; surrender now, and I'll be certain to consider your request upo--"

!!!

Aester's stake pierced straight through the ground, heading straight in Ant's direction; from beneath him, no less. Perry clumsily side-stepped, only missing the stake by a margin; Ant could even see the stake in crisp detail as it passed beyond Perry's peripheral, noting that it would have pierced right through him (him, mind you, not just Perry) if he didn't flinch out of the way. It was most definitely a wake up call for the presumptuous boy, but it wasn't enough to prevent Perry's halted speed and off-kilter footing... or the unassumed shockwave to follow.

Perry fell to the ground with a harsh THUD, followed shortly by the ground he was standing on collapsing in on itself. Ant was able to foresee the collapse, managing to have Perry perform an impromptu backward roll to attempt a speedy recovery upon crashing down into the supply route. However, it was only so effective; Perry rolled, but the external damage was still quite significant. Perry's left side took most of the brunt of damage, with the side's arm practically hanging off of it, and the pistol along with it was lost in the rubble. His torso was crushed into itself as well, leaving a moderate target on his left side for finishing the job.

Ant shook his head, which was now pounding from the tumble. He looked forward... much to his dismay, seeing three mechs in close proximity; and seemingly on friendly terms. Ahhhhhh, shit, Ant mumbled under his breath. He was slightly relieved to see the two of them in a clear state of disarray... but then he saw Korie and her framewerk, Aester, not far off ahead. Looking straight in his direction.

Only moments ago, Ant was in the clouds, and now, this... this, thing, took every step it could to ruin the little moments of happiness he had. The familiar scowl returned to Ant's face, only all the more intent. Ant turned up his speakers; all the while, having Perry face straight towards his nemesis. "You think you can hit me!?!?!?" Ant screamed through his intercomm. He was feeling it now; his blood was pumping, his heart racing. He was in the zone. "You think I'll let anyone hurt me!?!?!?"

And then, he charged forward. Still quite a formidable haste, straight towards the lot of them. But they were not his target...

@Dondude@AtomicNut@Tancuras@Gnar The Missing Link

"Ah! Zanny~!" hummed Lorenzo as he spoke to Zan, "Sorry, I was getting some sweets actually to answer you right away. Seems that the impatient ones started fighting before I could announce the fight and I got all riled up... that'll hurt their score for sure, but that's fine."

Lorenzo radio'd in over the battlefield intercom. "Due to the damages sustained both Serah and Ian have been disqualified, especially trigger finger Serah here who apparently started the fight without my permission. Naughty girl~! I wont punish the others, the fight has officially started. The altitude limit is the atmosphere, and upon taking what I deem suitable damage I will disable your Framewerks like I have done now. Do put up a good fight now~!

"I think that answered your question! Oh, and Zanny boy, you have full permission to use your hidden abilities... Bonus points for taking out three Framewerks within its time limit buddy!" laughed Lorenzo.

Even though the last statement wasn't an order, Zan took it as one. "Sir, yes, sir!" responded Zan, "Also sir my name is Zan, and it is disrespectfully to give your subordinates pet names, sir." Zan decided to watch the others fight for a while, and learn a bit about his fellow pilots through the way they fight.

"Hello, hello, hello! Welcome, everyone, to Antwon's little corner of Hell! As you have probably witnessed, I have made this modest arena my home!" said Antwon

'....... looks like it is time to join the fight and teach him some things,' thought Zan.

And it has made some lovely work with the majority of you. As for those of you hiding about; surrender now, and I'll be certain to consider your request upo--"

Right when Zan was about to jump out his spot to take out Antwon, a stake pierced through the ground narrowly missing Antwon's Framewerk. Then a shock-wave happened, Zan barely getting hit by it, and then followed by the ground falling out from below Antwon. Zan figured there was now at least four of his fellow pilots down there, he decided it was probably the best time to use his Framewerk's ability. So Zan removed the covering of the only protected button above his head, then he pressed it. After that all of the spots over his Framewerk that let off a light blue light, changed to a bright red. Also a fifteen minute timer started on the bottom-right corner of his field of vision. Zan went over a piece of rubble that was easily bigger than Пожертвовать, and picked it up. Zan looked at the countdown and it read 14:34. He went over to now the recent hole and threw the chunk of rubble down into it. Right afterwards Zan jumped down into the crater. Whoever was the closest to Zan when he made it down there was going to be the one he attacked, unless they were already taken out by the chunk of rubble and the other pieces of rubble that it would probably bring down.

The bullseye-launched plasma hit its mark, but the spotter sacrificed its lesser units to block the attack. Interesting, Iskander noted. However, rather than maneuver around as he was expecting it to, the enemy unit charged straight in toward him. Also interesting. Iskander readied his swords as the machine closed into melee range, and took up a defensive posture. Its spray of bullets mostly hit A3ON's leg shields, but a stray shot here and there dented Iskander's armor.

However, as his opponent barely entered his range, a cloud of smoke sprang up, obscuring his vision. It seemed to have properties beyond normal smoke, as A3ON was now reporting spell paradoxes within its armaments. Iskander cursed; who laid this trap here, and how had he been stupid enough to not notice it? Regardless, malfunctioning weapons were of little disadvantage to him at this range; it was very difficult for a sword to malfunction. As the form of the enemy was still fairly apparent through the smoke, Iskander met the enemy's charge with his BARZAI swords, his training in the style of dual wielding surely more than a match for his more sheltered opponent.