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..."
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"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?"
Ariamis