Sigma's annoyance reached critical levels. First, one of the framewerks had latched on her feet, and then the other had escaped Korie's trap. Nothing is going ever as planned. Takeo and Korie, they had decided to lend a hand, and yet it all was for naught. As she saw the speeding Пожертвовать came towards her like a deer in a railroad, she knew she was a goner. There was no way she could divert that hit, in no small part due to the dogpile she was part of.

Still. There were things she could do. Mustering all hatred, all vindictiviness she quickly moved the barrel of the gun. Only one way to stop this guy. She then gritted her teeth forming a predatorial smile and pushed the fire button.Cockpit breach. Pilot death. Framewerk neutralized. was all that she could think as she aimed at the vital area, hoping that maybe Lorenzo's safeguards could prevent that.

And then everything went black. Did I fail? Lorenzo's voice was heard. And then Sigma realized that at the very last second, neither Zan nor she had done anything. Lorenzo had shut down the whole exercise down.

You...big...asshole. I hope the moon drops on top of you. Sigma sighed as she facepalmed, relieving all tension of a sudden. She shuffled in her cockpit, and she went out to breathe deep. Takeo had already exited his frame too, and He was waving at her. Politely, she waved back at him, but her expression didn't change. Too many things remained unsolved...yet. She calmly awaited the chopper besides her frame.

Perry leaped forward, successfully latching on to Sigma's mech, only to be swiftly pushed over by the other; Takeo's. The big, bulky one. The pilot proceeded to threaten Ant and Perry, posing his massive sword above him in preparation of a strike. Ant chuckled in his cockpit. Does he really think such a clunky thing like his could make contact?, Ant thought.

Perry, while still grappling Sigma Comet by the legs, rolled around the machine until he was pivoted between her machine and Ant's potential assailant; preventing a strike from him without compromising Sigma. Expecting Aester's further annihilation of the arena, everything halted to a rather sudden, unsatisfying end, including Ant's noise rock. It seemed the crazed scientist didn't have as great a sense of spectacle as he let on, notifying everyone unceremoniously that they all 'failed.' Ant snickered, rising from his cockpit to casually exit. Yeah, okay buddy. Like this wasn't a colossal failure of both everyone's time and energy. We are completely doomed.

Ant arose from Perry's head. From his ground level, he was afforded a much greater perspective of the carnage that they all created. The two other framewerks towered above him, but it was only now that Perry noted what was pursuing behind him... it looked like an abomination of pure destruction. Ant was actually starting to feel quite relieved that it ended when it did. At the very least, he got to end on a somewhat high note, just before he would literally have been turned into minced meat. And he was especially pleased to have created his own mass of destruction, earlier, the prideful memory of fireworks crisp in his mind.

Hearing helicopters, Ant took it upon himself to rush over to Matsuda's mech, the guy referring to such as the 'Iron Sparrow.' Ant proceeded to climb it. Despite its size, he took the challenge with surprising speed, coming from such a lanky kid, finding just the right nooks and crannies to shimmy himself up. Not before long, Ant was standing on the mech's shoulder. He shouted to the pilot to garner his attention, then pointed to his sword. "You think this thing is big enough?"

With a sigh at the hearing of failure, Korie just plopped into their seat and stared blankly into the darkness of their cockpit. Why did they bother helping the other two, when it was clear from the start that this was a free for all bout? Why didn't they just pull down Antwon and Perry, leave them to fight Sigma and Comet, Takeo and Sparrow... why did they decide to stay behind and fight? Not only that, but they got themselves stuck between Zan and their own Framewerk. Korie hadn't expected such a normal looking thing to become such a threat. Was that why the XO called off the battle, was it because Zan's Framewerk would have killed them all given the chance?

Korie paused a bit, because sighing again.

No, the professor isn't that kind. "I still remember first meeting him, and he practically called me a living battery, before treating the Framewerk like it was his own child," Korie muttered to themselves in the dark as they slowly crawled out of their Framewerk.

He must have gotten all that he wanted from this, or else Lorenzo probably would have allowed us to kill each other... or perhaps he just didn't want a bunch of kids to further damage his precious Framewerks.

Looking up, Korie stared at the choppers as the slowly descended to pick up not only them, but the other pilots as well.

"I really dislike that man..."

___________________________________________________________________________________________

"Alright you failures~!" spoke Lorenzo as he thoroughly enjoyed an expensively made sundae that many would kill for, "Considering no one won, I decided to declare myself the winner and help myself to this delicious sundae that was meant for the winner... oh, and the all day pass to the relaxation room~! So, while I enjoy myself, you all will be learning why you all failed today," he grinned as he took a scoop of ice cream and promptly ate it with delight, snickering like a devilish serpent.

After being picked up by the helicopters you were all escorted to a private briefing room, where Lorenzo was comfortably rolling around in a chair eating a rather large sundae. Compared to the synthetic stuff you have been eating, a sundae would be pretty nice right about now...

"Elora!" shouted Lorenzo suddenly, "You failed horribly for running from your enemy! While you did do good in teaming up, abandoning allies and then crying... and then taking the fetal position in one's cockpit as someone shoots you is a disgrace!" grinned Lorenzo as he pointed his spoon towards Elora. "Shame on thee~! However, I will give you points for charging straight towards someone while you yourself are not suited for combat and lasting as well as you did... along with being cooperative, though you are still far too passive."

"Utano! You were equally shameful... you practically stood there doing nothing, although, if you count shooting someone in the fetal position as something... then well, that's something. To be honest, I'm not too sure why someone like you is even here," he spoke, almost bored as he waved his spoon towards her. "Might as well throw yourself to the Cruxi and let them have your way with you... I can always find a replacement for your Framewerk."

"Sarah! You purposely started fighting without me starting and dragged your team with you, disqualifying yourself not only from the rest of the match but from Squad Leader... an idiot is what you are. If you want to kill yourself so badly," Lorenzo nodded towards the battlefield outside, "feel free to take a walk in that direction. You'll never be heard from again. Disobeying orders and letting your emotions get the best of you is a surefire way of being the first to die."

"Matsuda! You're too easy to give in to your emotions and you don't pay attention to your surroundings... If you would have ditched Sigma in the crater your Framewerk would have taken less damage and you might have been able to take on Zan after abandoning the weaker link to their inevitable fate. Sure, your Framewerk is unique in being able to repair, but it takes time... time you could have used to repair yourself."

Eating more of his sundae, Lorenzo pointed his spoon towards Ian. "Ian! While I am impressed how you can handled yourself in a Framewerk, you're too stupid and emotional... sorry, but it's true. Knowing when to fight your battles is a number one thing that all soldiers should know... and you fought a hilariously losing battle despite taking one with you. Also, making enemies that early on with comrades who wanted to take you down is always a dreadful sign of you needing to improve something my boy. Not only that, but the way you acted in the bathroom before the mock battle was quite cute," grinned Lorenzo as he waved his spoon, "seems Mr. Casanova is more of a Princess when he's alone."

"Speaking of emotional... Antwon, your display of controlling yourself was pathetic. Not my taste of music, but doing such actions on the battlefield would draw Cruxi everywhere, endangering everyone. Not only did you ignore covering your weaknesses, but you allowed a sneak attack. The traps were clever, however, the fact you didn't place any underground led to your downfall. Heh, clever pun if I do say so myself. Anyway, choosing to ignore Korie and going instead for Sigma and Matsuda costed you points, mainly because Korie at the time was a potentially bigger threat with that earthquake of theirs. They were moments away from collapsing the entire place, and yet you ignored them for whatever it is you were doing... I don't know, I lost interest to be honest. Might want to keep me interested next time, Antwon."

"Zanny! You performed excellently and exactly as I expected... and sadly, I'm disappointed because you did just that; perform exactly as I expected. You follow the rules without thinking... it's like I'm talking to a doll honestly. You failed because you did everything by the book, you didn't do anything differently from what I'd expect you to do. Think for once," muttered Lorenzo as he tapped his own forehead, "Sometimes it's better to be alive than it is to be a simple-minded machine, Zanny."

"Iskander! I don't really know what to say about you... you kind of did what I thought you'd do, although I did expect more out of you. I was looking forward to some more swordplay, but I guess that'll be for another day. Also, the fact that you stood there dumbfounded and didn't pursue a fleeing target also lost you a lot of points... especially someone who wasn't really meant for direct combat either."

"Korie! The fact that you performed a sneak attack upon Antwon was excellent... but the fact that you didn't abandon the weaker links when Zan showed himself and instead decided to 'sacrifice' yourself was beyond my comprehension. When fighting the Cruxi, the strong don't sacrifice themselves for the weak, it is the weak who sacrifice themselves for the strong... remember that. You lost a lot of points for that, although it was amusing."

"Finally, Sigma! Excellent job recruiting teammates and last as long as you did as a sniper, however you are terrible at keeping your team in check, considering one of them acted without permission and the other went off and abandoned you. Every plan you probably thought out or had, quite literally blew up in your face," laughed Lorenzo as he recalled the traps. "Your Framewerk in the end was a complete wreck, and at times you were at the mercy of your enemy, to be honest, you were quite a disgrace out there... yet, somehow, you were able to survive as long as you did. Despite that, you still failed because the situation since the very beginning was impossible for you to succeed."

Finishing his sundae and placing the empty bowl on the table behind him, Lorenzo crossed his legs and closed his eyes with a very serious expression as silence filled the room. He was harsh and everyone knew it. However, everything he said was true... and he wanted it to sink in and let everyone think for a bit on their flaws for a little bit. Sure, they may be kids... but they are also gifted kids, and perhaps to them this is some sort of game, but not to him. To him this is something far serious and he doesn't care how far he has to go to make these kids understand how grave the situation is.

After a long silence, Lorenzo stood up, with his signature grin returning on his face as he spoke.

"Now... does anyone have any questions before I announce who the squad leader will be?"

Elora was glad to see Serah and Sigma again, and without any injuries either, but there wasn't time to talk before they went to post-mission briefing. The other people seemed to be in a bad mood too: nobody was happy about how this ended.

"Elora!" shouted Lorenzo suddenly, "You failed horribly for running from your enemy! While you did do good in teaming up, abandoning allies and then crying... and then taking the fetal position in one's cockpit as someone shoots you is a disgrace!" grinned Lorenzo as he pointed his spoon towards Elora. "Shame on thee~! However, I will give you points for charging straight towards someone while you yourself are not suited for combat and lasting as well as you did... along with being cooperative, though you are still far too passive."

Elora responded to the sudden shouting as expected of a timid girl like her, and then hid her face under her hands in shame once Lorenzo started scolding her. She hated how he started with her. Not only that, but he also revealed her most vulnerable moment to everyone, though she wanted to think of it as the first step towards resolving a problem: admitting it. She wanted to change so badly that she was willing to look him in the eye to do it, as afraid as she was.
So, she lowered her hands, and with a red face and misty eyes, responded to the XO officer: "Y-Yes, sir."

Everyone else also got scolded. Lorenzo brought up Iskander, and Elora then realized it was him who attacked her. He looked like another super-serious boy, but with a strange air of otherness to him. He was different from the others, that was for sure, though Elora couldn't quite tell what kind of person he was. Still, his Frame was terrifying, no doubt about it.
Even Sigma, who Elora thought acted without any flaws during the mission, got Lorenzo's whipping. When Lorenzo focused on her team falling apart, Elora wanted to object by saying that Sigma told her to run. However, she knew it would have only caused more trouble for them both. So she kept quiet, and hoped that despite it all Sigma would end up as squad leader. At this point she couldn't think of anyone else who was suitable for the role.

Sigma stood still, a serious frown in her face. And there was he, the XO, Lorenzo, with a sweet, delicious sundae. Sundae. Sundae...

WELCOME TO SUNDAE LAND!
The big whipped cream mound felt squishy to the touch. Sigma took a scoop out of it and stuffed it in her mouth as she then entered the wafer boat on the liquid chocolate river... The cherry sun was shining brightly, and flocks of caramel nut birds squawked...

Focus, Sigma! The pilot managed to get a grip forcefully. She was drooling out of her mouth. How unbecoming of her. Quickly wiping her sleeve, she noticed Elora trembling before Lorenzo's harsh words. She had known she was as squittish as a squirrel, and this situation wasn't really helping. Although, it all had been her idea, so it was her own fault, rather than Elora's. She nevertheless reached for Elora's shoulder, and gave her a tap. Perhaps this kind of physical contact would help her? She wasn't sure.

After chewing assorted pilots, it was finally Sigma's turn. Having been used to chewing, she took it in stride, placing a hand in his chin while he did so. She disregarded the amusement and veiled condescendence of Lorenzo to try and figure out what he was saying. What did I do wrong? Sure, my plans came to ash and I decided to throw the battle at some point to earn some comrades, but this jerk's hinting, that somehow, my foundations were wrong. Perhaps maybe I should've just used the fellow pilots and throw their lives for achieving a goal? I don't know. I really need to rethink and undo all the steps I've made up until this point." Sigma breathed deep.

I still need to bake the cake I promised though. Her eyes wandered to the Lt for the briefest of moment. Perhaps I should try inviting her too? Because Lorenzo is a no go in this case.

Sigma stood still and composed, and then raised her hand. "What was the fatal flaw in the foundations of my reasoning?"

The blue haired girl waved to both Sigma and Elora once she got out, intending to hug them but deciding against it. They didn't even have time to change, what made her have the time to hug them? Serah could also care less about the sundae Lorenzo was eating. She's getting cake. Much better. And made by Siggy too~! She quickly got out of that daydream though when her name was called, incorrectly at that, causing her to nearly jump. While Lorenzo had a point, his target still had to frown. "Who cares? it was only a mock battle anyway..." she thought to herself, then listened to the others getting chewed out. Two more she didn't like were the assaults on Ian and ESPECIALLY Sigma. Ian because even if he tried to run he couldn't track the sniper shot and would've been taken out anyway. Sigma because She did absolutely NOTHING wrong. Getting a team together is hard enough as is, and Sigma never not once was a bad leader. As Lorenzo said, the only reason Serah charged in as she did was because of emotions.

The usually cheery female was fuming with anger, but didn't want to show it. She'd lash out at Lorenzo if he wasn't above her, plus Sigma was already carrying her own weight. "Mou... this commander acts like he knows it all while barely having any human traits himself, the hypocrite."

..............

"Speaking of emotional... Antwon, your display of controlling yourself was pathetic. Not my taste of music, but doing such actions on the battlefield would draw Cruxi everywhere, endangering everyone. Not only did you ignore covering your weaknesses, but you allowed a sneak attack. The traps were clever, however, the fact you didn't place any underground led to your downfall. Heh, clever pun if I do say so myself. Anyway, choosing to ignore Korie and going instead for Sigma and Matsuda costed you points, mainly because Korie at the time was a potentially bigger threat with that earthquake of theirs. They were moments away from collapsing the entire place, and yet you ignored them for whatever it is you were doing... I don't know, I lost interest to be honest. Might want to keep me interested next time, Antwon."

..............

"Now... does anyone have any questions before I announce who the squad leader will be?"

Ant raised his hand, surprisingly patient as he allowed the others before him to speak. "First question: were you watching the same battle? Because if you were, then you would have probably noticed that there were two mechs [re: indicates with his fingers] blocking my path toward Mr. Misnomer over here", referring to Korie, Ant pointing in their direction without bothering to look. "Second: Do you normally show such a complete lack of interest in your pilots? Because maybe if you actually did show interest, you'd know what the f--k you're talking about, as opposed to throwing baseless insults at everyone. Last question: are your puns always this terrible?"

"Yes, my puns are rather terrible, aren't they?" spoke Lorenzo as he casually walked towards Antwon and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It shouldn't matter what is in your way, a true soldier can overcome any obstacle and reach the greater threat, in this case Korie's Framewerk. You failed that. You, are weak."

"And, yes, I do have a lack of interest in you all, because to me, you are nothing more than stupid children," Lorenzo smiled a bit at Antwon- no, 'smile' would be too innocent and kind, his expression was something far different. Compared to his cheerful and usual demeanor, this 'face' of his was truly maddening. "Do you have any idea how close humanity is to being extinct?" Lorenzo squeezed Antwon's shoulder hard, almost as if he was intending to break it with force alone. "Every second I waste with pathetic things like you... every second I waste with worthless excuse for human beings like you thousands of humans die... Yet... here you are, thinking you are so special and deserving of attention? Heh, sure, you were gifted with great abilities to pilot MY Framewerks, MY devices that I created to defeat the Cruxi... yet here you are, thinking that you, who have done nothing but prove that they are useless failures, demand MY special attention and interest? You really are a fool, child."

"Sigma, the fatal flaw in your foundation? Simple," spoke Lorenzo as he stared at Antwon without even bothering to look towards Sigma, "I mentioned that you were bound to fail since the very beginning... I wasn't referring to the beginning of the match, I was referring to the moment you all came together. You are all so incompetent that you refuse to cooperate together. Let me ask you something, all of you... What is humanity's enemy?"

"The Cruxi," spoke Lt. Ritsu as she cleared her throat suddenly.

"Correct... however, since the dawn of man, humanity would fight each other instead of joining together against a common enemy... whether it be through deceit... subterfuge, assassination, political warfare... whatever, there is always a power struggle. The same as there was here. Sure, some of you worked together, but the truth was, the moment you all began to fight you all failed- you weren't supposed to. Humanity isn't supposed to fight each other, nor is it supposed to kill each other, that is a grim-dark past we have intended to bury and leave behind yet you all were aiming to do just that out there like a bunch of barbarians. Were the Cruxi here, they probably wouldn't even bother to fight you, they would probably allow you to kill each other and sit back and watch with a cup of tea in hand."

"You are all pathetic excuse for human beings and have disgraced the dead," spoke Lorenzo as he glared straight into Antwon's eyes, before lowering his hand and walking away.

"Also, my 'baseless' insults aren't as baseless as you may think. They're truths, and your flaws need to be improved, otherwise you are all going to die- simple."

"Oh... and congratulations, Sigma, you're hereby promoted to Squad Leader. You're the only one who actually attempted to form a group, and survived well beyond what I thought they would. Although, I fear your squad is incapable of taking orders or understanding how everything works from what I've learned and seen."

"Now leave," muttered Lorenzo as he sat down back into his seat and flipped a strange pass of sorts while shooing everyone away, "I need to figure out how to spend my all-day pass of relaxation~"

...What the hell is this asshole thinking? First, he actively pushes everyone to fight. Saying it on multiple occasions, too. Then he goes on to say they weren't supposed to fight and just make peace with one another. No, this isn't right. Half the things Lorenzo is saying weren't even justified as far as Sera was concerned. But she couldn't speak up. No matter how much she may hate him, the commander is still above her. "Try leading a pack of rats... You wouldn't succeed with that attitude. They'd just abandon you ten come back to eat off of your corpse and drag the rest home." Serah thought to herself, before leaving the briefing lounge. She didn't pay attention to anyone around her, making a straight beeline for the changing rooms where the girl changed back into her casual attire. She couldn't believe the commander. How can once person be this... Ignorant?

She shook the thoughts off of her. "Staying mad won't do me any good. Get over yourself, Serah..." Slapping herself a few times, the bubbly girl forced out a smile and tried to remain as cheerful as ever. In no way was she going to let this ruin everyone's mood... Although it might be best to let everyone cool down a little, judging from Ant's reaction. She started skipping towards the main hall again, hoping to encounter someone who isn't as mad about the whole ordeal as she is.

After being picked up by a helicopter Zan was escorted to a private briefing room, where XO Lorenzo was comfortably rolling around in a chair eating a sundae. Zan immediately stood at attention and saluted XO Lorenzo. "Alright you failures~!" spoke Lorenzo as he ate a sundae, "Considering no one won, I decided to declare myself the winner and help myself to this delicious sundae that was meant for the winner... oh, and the all day pass to the relaxation room~! So, while I enjoy myself, you all will be learning why you all failed today," he grinned as he took a scoop of ice cream and promptly ate it with delight, snickering like a devilish serpent.

Which is something that he didn't even remember how one tasted anymore, since it had been so long since he ate one. So in his opinion a sundae was not a reward, nor was the all day pass to the so-called relaxation room. Then XO Lorenzo started telling each of the pilots their flaws. Then he got to Zan.

"Zanny! You performed excellently and exactly as I expected... and sadly, I'm disappointed because you did just that; perform exactly as I expected. You follow the rules without thinking... it's like I'm talking to a doll honestly. You failed because you did everything by the book, you didn't do anything differently from what I'd expect you to do. Think for once," muttered Lorenzo as he tapped his own forehead, "Sometimes it's better to be alive than it is to be a simple-minded machine, Zanny."

Zan kept on saluting and his face stayed lacking any emotion, while he took in what XO Lorenzo said. This had no effect on him since he had been used to these types of talks for a long time now. "XO Lorenzo sir, I am following my training, and that is all. I follow orders and will always do that, since my superiors have a bigger view of the big picture than I do, sir," responded Zan, "Sir, my only reason to live is to fight in humanity's war for survival, which I will die during. Sorry sir, but I am simple-minded machine just as you said, sir."

XO Lorenzo went through all his 'rant', then after a long silence, Lorenzo stood up, with his signature grin returning on his face as he spoke. "Now... does anyone have any questions before I announce who the squad leader will be?"

Then the kid named Antwon said some really dump questions? Zan was really starting to not like him.

"And, yes, I do have a lack of interest in you all, because to me, you are nothing more than stupid children," Lorenzo smiled a bit at Antwon- no, 'smile' would be too innocent and kind, his expression was something far different. Compared to his cheerful and usual demeanor, this 'face' of his was truly maddening. "Do you have any idea how close humanity is to being extinct?" Lorenzo squeezed Antwon's shoulder. "Every second I waste with pathetic things like you... every second I waste with worthless excuse for human beings like you thousands of humans die... Yet... here you are, thinking you are so special and deserving of attention? Heh, sure, you were gifted with great abilities to pilot MY Framewerks, MY devices that I created to defeat the Cruxi... yet here you are, thinking that you, who have done nothing but prove that they are useless failures, demand MY special attention and interest? You really are a fool, child."

In Zan's opinion, everything XO Lorenzo said was true.

"Let me ask you something, all of you... What is humanity's enemy?"

"The Cruxi," spoke Lt. Ritsu as she cleared her throat suddenly.

At the mention of the Cruxi, Zan's face had a look of hatred. But that look was on Zan's face for a short time, before going back to having no emotions.

"Correct... however, since the dawn of man, humanity would fight each other instead of joining together against a common enemy... whether it be through deceit... subterfuge, assassination, political warfare... whatever, there is always a power struggle. The same as there was here. Sure, some of you worked together, but the truth was, the moment you all began to fight you all failed- you weren't supposed to. Humanity isn't supposed to fight each other, nor is it supposed to kill each other, that is a grim-dark past we have intended to bury and leave behind yet you all were aiming to do just that out there like a bunch of barbarians. Were the Cruxi here, they probably wouldn't even bother to fight you, they would probably allow you to kill each other and sit back and watch with a cup of tea in hand."

"You are all pathetic excuse for human beings and have disgraced the dead," spoke Lorenzo as he glared straight into Antwon's eyes, before lowering his hand and walking away.

"Also, my 'baseless' insults aren't as baseless as you may think. They're truths, and your flaws need to be improved, otherwise you are all going to die- simple."

"Oh... and congratulations, Sigma, you're hereby promoted to Squad Leader. You're the only one who actually attempted to form a group, and survived well beyond what I thought they would. Although, I fear your squad is incapable of taking orders or understanding how everything works from what I've learned and seen."

Zan would now listen to any order Sigma gave him, since she was now his superior.

"Now leave," muttered Lorenzo as he sat down back into his seat.

Although Zan had two questions, he left right when he was ordered to do. He went and changed out of his suit and into some military fatigues. Then Zan went to go train again. Zan put in an earpiece just in-case new orders came in.

Takeo simply held his small smile through the entirety of the debriefing, shrugging his shoulders loosely when the XO was handing him his own criticism. Thinking back to the battle, he did not believe his actions had any motive to them he could comprehend - in fact, he hardly remembered most of it. It was almost like he became a different person when the haze of battle entered his mind. Takeo was not sure he could act any differently, even if he tried.

The announcement of Sigma as squad leader made his smile larger, and close to genuine. When the XO dismissed them, he put a hand on her shoulder.

"I will call you taisho, now." As Takeo spoke, he stepped back from Sigma and inclined his body in a formal bow, the proper gesture to respect a superior in his ancient culture. The unified military of Earth required a salute, but he would try to bend the rules with a fellow pilot.

"Excuse me sir, but that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."

Ian had kept quiet for most of what Lorenzo had been saying, as he felt no need to question or explain himself to this guy, and certainly not after his little rant at Antwon. He wasn't angered by what Lorenzo had said, quite the opposite actually. It was amusing how deluded people were, even scientist who were supposed to separate fact from fantasy could get caught up in the biggest lie ever told. "Humanity has no intention to burying that past and if you believe differently, you fooling yourself. I'm all for fighting the Cruxi, for surviving to live another day, but please spare me this crap about humanity being oh-so special. There isn't anything special about us and there will never be anything special about us. We are all violent, self-serving, and xenophobic at our core, surrounding ourselves with those of like-mind to fend off threats to our styles of living."

Ian stood up with a small stretch as he walked away, but he stopped half-way to the door and turned around to face Lorenzo, shaking his head with an amused grin on your face. "I must say that I never figured you for an idealist, but then I guess you have to be with your job. Also, you can stop trying to creep me out, I've met plenty of people who are worse then you could ever be, or maybe just as bad if you've still got more to show." With that Ian gave a wave before continuing his trek off to nowhere in particular, giving a non-chalant, "Congratulation, Captain my captain." to Sigma, who he believed would make a good leader. He briefly consider pulling the same thing he did with Korie on her, as a form of congratulations, but she'd probably expect it. Maybe after their first victory, as that'd be a true moment of celebration for sure. That being said, he was sure that when ever he did it, he'd be in for a very painful experience, but that was what made it all the more tempting for him and amusing for others.

And so Ian left the room, coming up behind Zan, who Ian had yet to talk to. That couldn't continue, he'd be trusting this guy with his life one day. With that in mind, he walked up next to the big guy, putting an arm around his shoulder and a smile on his face.

"Why hello there, I've a few questions for you, Zan, my man . . . it's Zan, right? That's what ol' Lorenzo called you so I'll assume that's your name. My name's Ian and I'm wondering . . . think any of the girls here are cute? I mean, they are all very pretty, but are there any you take a particular interest in? Maybe the shy, delicate looking Elora, our the serious commander, Sigma, the sexually confusing Korie, or the highly excitable Serah?" Ian had heard Lorenzo say that Zan was machine like, so he was curious to see what if that extended to his off the battlefield attitude as well. If so, Ian had to see how far he could take this, prank-wise, as Zan would prove to be an invaluable ally . . .if Sigma didn't catch on too quick and spoil his fun. Since she was the leader, then the machine-like Zan would follow her orders to the letter, so maybe Ian's plan should be to break Zan of that and mould him into his perfect prank partner. It was something to consider at least.

@Gnar The Missing Link
@Thanatos

"Ritsu."

"Lorenzo..."

"Lieutenant, I'm not asking, I'm ordering you."

Regrettably, Ritsu handed the XO her gun, as he promptly stood up and followed Ian out of the room. With the same smile on his face, he followed him to where Zan where, and immediately shot Ian at the back of both of his knees, watching him fall to the ground.

"You're right, I am too idealistic... and you aren't special, you're pretty disposable," he muttered before kicking Ian hard across the jaw and stomping on his face, before shooting both of his shoulders while smiling in front of Zan. "A shame really, your sister was so happy that she was going to be able to see you again... to bad that you have your head so far up your ass that you can't see that you are nothing more than a battery for the Framewerks, can you? I could cut off your arms, your legs... hell, I could have you as nothing more than a brain and a spine to pilot my Framewerks while you live your life in a canister... would you like that?" he muttered as he stepped on Ian's face again.

"Listen to me, I don't give a fuck about you. You are worthless and disposable... and if you're going to continue with this shitty attitude of yours and refuse to cooperate, I will kill you and find someone else to pilot Anubis. Serah, remove this worthless piece of filth from my sights... oh and I almost forgot," Lorenzo promptly shot another bullet straight at Ian's ear, blowing a piece of it off, "I hear dogs are quite good doing well with just one ear, I wonder if the story holds true... or was that pigs? Doesn't matter, if you disappoint me again, the next bullet is going in your head."

With a final kick straight to Ian's hid Lorenzo calmly chuckled to himself before dismissing the rest of the group. "I think a certain pig would be saying... 'That's all, folks!'"

Ian heard the footsteps, and gave a short sigh, having an idea of what was coming.

"Let's take a rain check on this conversation for another day." Ian whispered just as the first shot rang out, a sharp pain blossoming in his leg, followed by another in his other leg.As he fell to the floor, he didn't let out so a single sound, aside from a small chuckle when Lorenzo threw his own words back at him. Obviously he thought Ian considered himself separate from humanity, but Ian knew better than anyone that he was as human as they come. He'd just learned to suppress it better.

Ian took all the abuse that Lorenzo dished out silently, thee only tears being shed were those of blood from his wounds, the only whimpers heard being those of his bones as they cracked ever so slightly. This wasn't the first time that Ian had suffered a beating nor his first time getting shot, and for a moment, he thought that he was back home on Turok; getting the shit kicked out of him for stealing from one of the gang members that littered the planet. They were always so confident, believing that nobody could touch them, that it was almost impossible for him to find easier targets if he tried. But then Lorenzo shook him out of his mind by shooting him in the ear, the loud sound bringing him back to the present day. Lorenzo comment earned him nothing more than a hollow look, which is probably why he deemed it necessary to launch another kick to Ian's face.

Ian just laid on the ground, eyes looking up as he fought the urge to make this bad situation even worse. Ian Blackwood didn't care if he lived or died, just as long as he got to do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted when he did end up biting the dust . . . but the boy from the slums wasn't so willing to jump into the eternal void, and held Ian's tongue for him. The boy took over the body, welcoming the familiar pain of bruising and gunshots.

Looks like no matter where we go, home always comes to find us, huh Ian. The boy chuckled as he whispered into Ian's mind, finding the predicament to be hilariously familiar. I wonder what that man would think, for him to save you you from one abusive gang only for you to fall head long into the clutches of another. And did you here what he said, your sister's alive . . . or would you prefer if I used the term that you gave to Serah, 'crush' was it? I'm pretty sure that it's looked down upon to love your sister like that, even if you aren't related by blood.

Doesn't matter Ian replied, wondering if when he'd be rid of this side of himself, though deep down he knew the answer would be never. The boy was, and would always be, a part of him, the boy was his humanity in all of it's dark glory and Ian couldn't despise it anymore if he tried.The past doesn't own me, and it never will. I never look back, remember.

I remember that you keep saying that, that you keep thinking it, but you and I both know that it's not the truth. You just say that to keep what little sanity you have, same with that facade of a smile you wear all the time. Serah has no idea what you're truly like, when you're all alone and nobody's watching. Laughter filled his ears, a hollow ringing laughter that resonated bothersomely in his mind. Lorenzo called you a Princess, but that doesn't even come close to describing your fragility. We've always been nothing but an empty shell, a delicate parasite that feeds off the energy of others to stay sane. By yourself, you're nothing but a sad lump of flesh. Who are you going to talk to tonight, I wonder?

Drop the act Ian growled,You're the only person I can talk to at night here.

True, sucks to be you, doesn't it? I'd hate to have a voice talk to me all the time when I'm alone, it's a sure sign that you've got some screws loose. Try and sleep tight, unless you want to expend the effort to respond to whoever try's to talk to you now. Probably going to tell you you're an idiot, have some major balls, or both, though I'd put mu money on the first one. Oh, and I'm done taking the pain for you, but I doubt that it matters much though, we've felt and dished out worse. Much worse. The boy's presence faded back into Ian's subconscious, allowing Ian to be aware of his surroundings again, and feel the pain coming from pretty much everywhere. He was surprised that Lorenzo hadn't gone for a crotch shot while he'd been at it, he seemed like the type, but maybe it just hadn't crossed his mind.

Ian tried to move a little, but immediately stopped as it was quickly apparent that it was a bad idea. While he could move his arm and legs well enough, they were in no condition to have any weight placed on them whatsoever. The pain was intense, but the boy had been right that it wasn't the worse pain he'd ever felt, far from it in some cases. The most annoying thing was his ear, in which he could now here an incessant ringing noise. At least I can still hear from that ear, though probably not as well.

Okay, so this day had gone from good, to bad, to good again, to bothersome, to finally being very nostalgic in the worst possible way. The only bright side he could see to this, and he probably shouldn't be thinking this, was the joke that Lorenzo made at the very end. Ian, being a lover of classic Earth music and memorabillia, couldn't help but chuckle at the reference. What could he say, funny was funny, and he had a morbid sense of humor at times.

"Heh, good one." He muttered under his breath in a pained grunt, passing the time until somebody decided to help him by watching to rivulets of his blood race across the floor, trying to mentally will the smaller, thinner rivulet to move faster. It was going to lose at this rate, dammit . . .Okay,I wish someone would hurry up and take me to the med-bay or something already, the mixture of pain and blood loss is stating to mess with my head.

@Thanatos

Antwon couldn't help but smile along with Lorenzo, as well; though more in amusement as opposed to matching his creepiness. He listened politely, though he struggled to keep from elbowing the guy in the jaw as he gripped his shoulder. First, Ant was scolded for not managing to annihilate Korie... and now, he was being scolded for trying to in the first place. Then he proceeded to do some drill sergeant insults, yada yada yada in Ant's mind... he's seen it all before, followed by physical batterment to boot during the majority of his life on the streets. But what worried Ant a little more than anything was how unpredictable this commander was. At the very least, the thugs made sense. This guy? Ant had no clue what he was thinking; and that was troublesome.

Upon the order to leave, Ant was very tempted to heckle Lorenzo more. He had so many more pressing questions, but even he knew at this point it would be out of line. And then, as if on cue, Ian chimed in with his own opinion on the matter... and Lorenzo's following response seemed to quell any questions Ant had, at least regarding their captain's mental state. My God, this guy truly is insane, Ant thought, which he concluded in his mind that they really were prisoners here. Ant had plans to ask Zan about his exercise regimen, but after Ian's bizarre line of questioning, decided it be best for another day... the hulk of a kid seemed pissed off enough. Then again, for the majority of their time here, he seemed to always be pissed off.

Ant looked around the rest of his squad, and was actually quite impressed with what he saw on the field, at least with half of them. It was dawning on Ant that he might actually be stuck with this group for the long haul... Perhaps it would be best if I actually attempt to see the good in them, he thought. Ant approached Sigma and Takeo in passing; he found Takeo's bow odd, but refrained from commenting. "Good work" was all he said, simply, followed by "Congrats" in reference to Sigma, then continued walking. The boy was clearly rusty when it came to compliments, but he was genuine.

Then, he saw Elora, and a small smile went on his face. He was actually quite impressed by the girl; she was the last person he suspected would charge straight into a confrontation. Lorenzo did mention that she ended up running away and hiding in the fetal position, sure; but from what Ant saw in person, there was potential. She reminded him a little of Ariadne. In passing (not before nonchalantly stepping past Ian), Ant gave her two gentle pats on the shoulder. "You proved me wrong, Mouse. You are less timid in your suit." He smiled, then went on his way. He gave her his signature, 'not-look-in-the-person's-direction' thumbs-up, as he walked to the men's changing rooms... though this time, for once, he actually wasn't being facetious.

The debriefing was a wild ride to say the least. As their executive officer took his time carefully detailing how awful each other pilot was, when it came time for him to describe Iskander's performance, for some reason he was at a loss for words. As though he hadn't been paying attention or something, and only came up with a review at the last minute. The only criticism that was actually issued rolled off of Iskander's back; he hadn't just been sitting there, his weapons were offline. He didn't even spring the trap that took them offline. The appointment of a squad leader was noted; Iskander didn't really have any interactions with this "Sigma" person, but from what was described, it seemed that she had piloted the sniper Framewerk. Iskander would get to know her better later.

The real trouble came about when the others began to question Lorenzo's methods. Granted, Iskander had his own doubts and concerns, but he kept them to himself. He already could tell what type of man he was dealing with. Egotistical, power-mad, and self-obsessed. Iskander had encountered plenty like him among the Lemurians, and many of those were counted among his closest friends and family. Keeping silent was what Iskander had learned to protect himself a long time ago, and it was dutifully serving him now.

Silently, though Iskander had nothing but contempt for their executive officer. Who appointed this madman? If his time was so valuable, why did he just spend three hours trying to teach them a childish lesson? Not to mention the resources wasted in launching and repairing the Framewerks. Iskander severely doubted that Lorenzo had any actual military qualifications, and was likely only granted a paper rank to oversee his pet project. He could imagine that the desperation that this project represented would allow for such disregard for regulation.

Things then went from bad to worse. The same idiot who continued to speak out was then shot and beaten by Lorenzo. Whatever doubts Iskander had about their executive officer, that turned them to concrete. He flinched at the sounds of the gunshots, but otherwise his face stayed grim and stoic, a deliberate effort to not attract attention to himself. He was almost surprised that Lorenzo didn't kill him, for all he went on about how replaceable they all were. Iskander had seen men executed for less.

Either way, the dissident was now laying on the floor in a pool of his own blood, muttering to himself. Looking about the room, it seemed that the majority of the others were too shaken up to do much about his condition. Iskander sighed, and then went about the grim chore of making sure that the loudmouth didn't die. Iskander grabbed his bloodied pant legs, crossing his limp legs over each other, and then lifted up his torso by the back of his shirt, supporting his head on his forearms.

Looking up at the others, Iskander softly asked no one in particular, "Which way to the medic?"

She was a lot calmer now that she had gotten to know one of the other pilots.

Perhaps it was the brief moment of normal conversation that soothed her. Or perhaps it was that brief feeling of euphoria when she started playing her music again for someone to listen to. In any case, she simply stood there in front of that guy, trying to be as inconspicuous as she could.

"Utano! You were equally shameful... you practically stood there doing nothing, although, if you count shooting someone in the fetal position as something... then well, that's something. To be honest, I'm not too sure why someone like you is even here," that guy said.

Maybe it had something to do with you kidnapping me, she thought. Not that he's likely to let me just go back home regardless...

Today was the day she had thought death for her was a forgone conclusion. It still was, but not on this day. But now, at the very least, she didn't want to go out falling over everything in her mech and still be generally unhelpful. Utano wasn't here of her own accord, but whether she was consenting of not didn't matter to these guys, she'd still be pushed out to war and from what these guys were wearing and how they acted, there was very little she could do to dissuade them.

"Now leave," muttered Lorenzo as he sat down back into his seat and flipped a strange pass of sorts while shooing everyone away, "I need to figure out how to spend my all-day pass of relaxation~"

Suddenly everything took a turn for the worst as he shot Ian.

She could only stare wide eyed as the guy shot him again, this time at his ear. His legs looked... Utano couldn't even manage a scream. Something pushed against the back of her throat suddenly, causing her to bolt out of the room. Her flight to the women's toilet was cut short by her skidding on the smooth floor of the facility, causing her to fall flat on her face. She pushed herself up and retched.

And finally, she screamed.

Utano screamed in that little corridor until her throat felt sore. She sat back against the wall, shivering. Never in her life did she thought she would see that much blood in once place. Picking herself up, she stumbled into the toilet, cleaning herself up as best she could. It was a good thing the material her outfit was made of could be cleaned easily, as well as being water proof for obvious reasons.

There was simply no way she could ever forget those kneecaps exploding into red chunks, bending where they should not bend.

Elora was a bit startled when Sigma tapped her shoulder during the briefing, but after she turned her head and saw it was her who did it Elora calmed down. Her presence helped soothe her emotions during Lorenzo's talk, and she was glad she didn't distance herself to keep a public image of a stoic soldier or anything. Antwon talked back to Lorenzo like she expected of the rude boy, and Elora recoiled a bit at how strongly the professor reacted to it. She was worried that he would actually break his shoulder, but little did the shy girl know that the worst was yet to come.

Then Lorenzo said something confusing, and Elora had trouble grasping what he said. They failed the moment they started fighting? Did I misunderstand what the mission objectives were? He even warned against forming teams-
The realization hit her, and something started growing inside of her, an emotion she hasn't felt in a long time. It caused her heart rate to accelerate, and breathing to turn faster. Elora wondered if it was fear, but no; fear would make her legs shake, but this caused her legs to stand even firmer. And then she understood: she was angry. She was angry at the professor ordering them to fight each other, and then scold them for doing like he said. If there was some kind of lesson to be learned here Elora didn't learn it, and could only think of the suffering she went through in vain.

Her anger however soon subsided when Lorenzo promoted Sigma to squad leader, and Elora calmed down. She wanted to congratulate her as soon as the briefing ended and took a few steps to follow after her, but before they left the room Ian spoke. There wasn't anything inherently wrong with what he said, at least that's how Elora thought, so it came all the more shocking when Lorenzo pulled out a gun and shot Ian down, causing her to scream: "Ian!"
Any lingering anger Elora had was swept away in that moment, replaced by dread. She couldn't do anything but stare in horror as the bloodied boy was lying on the floor, Iskander using some kind of first-aid technique to help him. Utano took it even worse than she did, and ran away. She heard her scream somewhere, and felt pity towards her, not wanting her to go through this kind of stuff since she knew how badly she would take it. Elora wondered how she could take this so well herself, and didn't run away like she did. Maybe she was already getting desensitized to the senseless violence? That thought scared her a little bit.

While Ian was prepared to be taken to the med bay, Antwon passed by her, gave her a couple of pats, and said he was impressed by her. She was honestly happy about the positive reaction, and how it came from the most unlikely source considering how he treated her when they first met. She wasn't a burden, she was a part of the team like everybody else. She could yet be friends with everybody, even him...one of these days, she added as a mental note. She decided that once she saw Ian safely escorted to the med bay she would change her clothes, meet up with Serah and Sigma, and congratulate her for her promotion.

Sigma blinked twice, trying to regist each of Lorenzo's words. Wha? I'm squad leader? But I got kicked all over the place. Geez, thanks, Lorenzo. Now I'll have to deal with people with egos the size of icebergs. Still... maybe there wasn't much else to pick from. She bit her lip slightly, but graciously nodded in acceptance and did a salute to Lorenzo.

Then, Serah, who was puffed up like a mad hummingbird had left out in a huff. Well, that was understandeable, but Sigma was confident no harm had been done. The girl also didn't say anything, which was good. And then Zan left, without a word either, apparently. Takeo was much more forthcoming in his reaction, even with strange bow and that. Somewhat...cute? Sigma dedicated a nod of acknowledgement to him. "Alright."

And then... Ian happened Sigma bit her lip so hard she drew blood. Foolish Ian, you're going to ruin everything! Don't rouse a veteran like THAT. The squad leader could only watch and flinch a little the development, wincing in empathic pain as she saw Ian's knees explode. Antwon's greeting came not long after. Dry, awkward, but it was surprising in a way. Endearing in another, and very off. She had expected Ant to start bickering like Ian did, but the way he was taking it... was there something more than him being an arrogant teenager with bad music taste?

The situation quickly devolved. Utano, the quiet girl, turned out she wasn't as stoic as she initially implied. She had probably never seen more blood than a papercut in her entire life. Rolling her eyes, she watched how she ran to the bathroom. Pinching her nosebridge, she breathed deep.

"Everyone, try to get some refreshments, and rest." Sigma said in a serious tone, looking at each one and the other who could still be susceptible to orders. "Elora, see if you can talk some sense in Utano." She quickly eyed the mousy pilot, which she had expected half to break down, but she didn't yet.Bless you, Elora, you're one of the few people I can still count with in this disaster.

She then walked towards Iskander, who had taken the initiative to drag Ian to the medbay. But Sigma didn't want anyone else near Ian in his current condition. Some of them had already the morale affected. More... brutality, even as if it was half expected from a veteran like Lorenzo could seriously and irreversibly harm the team's morale.

"I'll take over medbay duties, Iskander. Thanks. Now go to rest with the rest of the team and don't dwell on this event much further. There will be a brief report afterwards." She added as she attempted to grab Ian's body in her own shoulders, gritting her teeth by doing so, but showing that underneath the lithe body that clothes betrayed, she was stronger than she looked at first glance. "Do not follow us. Do not cause more trouble to me or our XO. THAT IS AN ORDER." Sigma glared with a piercing stare to Iskander, and anyone who might feel they still had to say anything.

She then nodded in acknowledgement to Lorenzo, intent on starting her one trip to the medbay.

Great for a first day. Sigma bitterly thought.

Serah froze up, all muscles tensed. She was on her way back to everyone when shots rang through the hallways. The girl couldn't move her feet anymore, cold shivers down her spine. She was forced to clutch her arms for support, all kinds of thoughts now swimming around in the girls's head.

You're losing everyone again.

They won't get out of here. Only you, again.

Everything is going wrong again.

It's repeating itself.

Serah went to the wall for support and dropped down leaning against it. She has no idea what's happening. No idea if she wants to. they barely force to keep tears from streaming down their face. Ghosts of the past are floating around everywhere, taking the form of Serah's current team... "Th-The shots... Can't be... That bad right? ...Nothing probably happened.... Yeah... Everything will be fine..." the young girl tried to comfort herself, too far from anyone to hear voices. She grabbed onto the wall again, sweat dropping down her forehead and tright to make her way back to her room.