The transport shuttle carrying the students of the academy softly touched down inside the landing bay of the orbiting school. Exhausted, each of the young pilots unloaded from the ship and collapsed on the floor with their teacher (not wanting to look like an outsider, Rick also laid down on the ground). The patchwork repairs on their Goliaths were coming apart and the machines had hastily been recovered from the battlefield and taken away to the hangar for immediate repairs. It looked like the Crisis Rescue Unit wouldn't be going anywhere soon.

Shotuku stood up first and brushed off his wrinkled robe. He had tired himself out lecturing the youthful group all the way back to the academy and his age was wearing down on him. "Alright let's see." The teacher looked around the room and floor, trying to figure out what was left to yell about. "Well I can't think of much for you to correct anymore. I'm tired, you're tired, we're all tired. Let's go back to our rooms and rest and you shall all report to your regular teacher tomorrow morning, as expected. Understood?"

"Yes Mr. Shotuku," the prone bodies collectively mumbled.

"Good. Then I'm going to go run a nice hot bath and maybe think about that lovely Aunt Shauna a little later." Mr. Shotuku smiled to himself as he trotted off down the hallway to fulfill those actions. The students he left behind suddenly bolted in every direction, scrambling to find a place where they could throw up and clear their minds of the images their elderly mentor had just planted in their minds.

* * * * *

Mr. Toriyama raised an eyebrow when he saw six old faces enter his classroom and take up their original seats. It looked like this wasn't going to be such an easy day after all, but at least now the two smartest students had returned and the questions he posed the class would be answered faster.

Chase was quickly surrounded by his fan club and consumed by their love. They had erected a small statue on his desk to represent him while he was gone and had decorated the surrounding area as though they were welcoming the saviour of the war, which they were in their own minds (and in Chase's).

Ardwen grumbled as he struggled to push past the crowd and get to his chair, still very much aware of the duel he and Chase were engaged in for the hand of Nami. He quickly pulled out his books and papers and began plotting out different attack strategies, some to turn Nami off of Chase and others to get her more attracted to Ardwen. Soon the strategist's pencil tip was burning as it left a smoking trail across the papers and those around him quickly shuffled away, dragging their desks with them.

Riya sat down in her quiet, unassuming way. Her close friends talked to her and got simple smiles and nods for responses. Things were normal on the exterior for the girl. She would never reveal to anyone her insecurities and fears about her father, or about her near-death experience in Abertyl. Everything was the way it should be for her. Except that it wasn't quite the same as before. Unbeknown to her classmates, Riya was being watched by Rick at all times as part of his bodyguard duties and he was currently stuck to the ceiling, his suit flickering every so often with a little buzz of static.

Raul sat in the back as always, his silent demeanour and intimidating presence not lost during his absence from the class, and so those around him gave a little extra space for the ninja to move through. Only now when Raul took up his chair, he had different thoughts on his mind than before. They were thoughts for Nami, the little girl that had stolen his heart. And he wasn't going to sit by idly watching Ardwen and Chase anymore. He was going to get involved in the battle for Nami as well!

Nami skipped to her seat, excited to have returned to the classroom, one of her favourite places in the world. She took in a deep breath, relishing in the familiar smells around her and then pulled out her books and dropped the heavy texts on her desk with a bang. She also pondered her plan and how it was going so far. It seemed that Porter was getting further and further away from both her heart and mind. All these other boys she was supposed to be using were cluttering up her capacity to love. But no more! The spunky teen decided, right then and there, that she would commit to chasing down the affections of Porter now more than ever. Stalker was she? Why, Porter didn't even know the meaning of stalker yet! But he would find out soon...yes very soon.

Porter slumped down into his seat, still tired after a restless night of sleeping. He couldn't get thoughts of that cyborg out of his head. Something about it was sticking to his mind. And now he had to go back to trying to learn as well and he knew as well as Mr. Toriyama that he was not model student number one in the class. But at least now he had the support of a team around him to help him through it.

Friends right? They were friends weren't they? Porter had never really had any. As the born loser of the school, it had always been the dream to become the Chase Rezel, Mr. Popularity. But now that he might actually have some friends, it was tough to figure out how they worked or if they really were his friends after all and not just members of a squad.

While Porter mulled this over, he saw Nami looking back over her shoulder at him, an old flame re-ignited in her eyes that terrified Porter so much he nearly jumped out of his seat. She winked at him and gave him a cute little peace sign, tilting her head as she did, before she returned to facing forwards. Scared witless, Porter turned towards Raul, only to be returned a hostile glare. Right, Raul would be jealous over that.

Scrambling around with his head, Porter finally locked on to Riya, who was searching around the room with her own eyes. Upon seeing him, the angelic girl gave Porter her patented feel-better-Porter smile but he could see the hurt lying behind her face.

Rick's cloaked hand patted Porter on the shoulder in an understanding manner before the Circuit Breaker leaned in close to the student's ear. "Porter, you know I must protect Riya from any and all threats, both physical and emotional. So if you hurt her..." Rick made the sound of slicing a neck as he did the corresponding gesture, forgetting he couldn't be seen since he was invisible. But Porter understood the reference and gulped.

To think that the battles on Earth had been hell. Things just got a whole lot worse up here.

* * * * *

Ochenkov spit out a combination of blood and saliva as he shook himself awake. What had happened? The last thing he remembered he had been walking along the road to the church in the little town he had found, and now he was sitting in a chair, hands bound behind his back, surrounded by darkness.

His primal furies were surging through him as his body awoke but to no avail. It was a thick chain that held his wrists together and he wasn't moving anywhere anytime soon. He squinted a little to try and make out his surroundings but came up only with incongruent shadows. The smells of the place were a collection of mould, wood, and musk. It could have been anywhere in the village. Some basement or shed or little cabin in the woods. But why had he been so violently attacked upon arrival?

A dim overhead bulb flickered on, the singular light only illuminating the centre of the square room and nothing else. But Ochenkov could see he was surrounded by people. People everywhere, in every direction. They watched him intently, with a terrified curiosity, almost like a wild animal would. There was a fear about them and Ochenkov thought he may have wandered into a town still filled with racial tensions towards the northern barbarians. Unusual for a place so far north, but still plausible.

The group shuffled and murmured a little before parting in front of Ochenkov. A grand figure stood in this rift, a tall, gaunt man dressed in a flowing robe of black, laced with golden trim. She stepped in front of the crowd and into the light, Ochenkov saw the many glittering accessories the man carried: numerous crosses, a hanging bundle of scrolls, golden chains, and different symbols crafted from metal and hanging off the outfit.

The figure himself was growing older, but still held on to some of his youth, falling somewhere into middle age, similar to where Ochenkov was headed. The man's jet black hair hung down in greasy strips, in many ways looking like his aquiline nose that resembled a bird of prey. His fingers were long and spindly, and Ochenkov suspected that under the robes the body would be a skeleton draped in skin.

It was clear from the religious paraphernalia that this was a priest though, and from the way the people were reacting, he was the leader. That would make this place the church basement, most likely. Ochenkov grumbled. He hated it when churches contributed to the stereotyping and hatemongering against his people.

"Welcome outsider, to our fair little town," the minister said in a deep voice that almost didn't belong to such a frail person. "What brings you here?"

"No, what bring me here, to this place?" Ochenkov demanded, not trying to hide his accent at all. If these people hated him for the way he was, then he would not shy away.

The priest grinned, something sinister and wicked that curled and twisted and the crowd around him fell to their knees and began to bow and pray. "I have asked the question tribesman, and I will continue to without answering yours. Obviously you seem confused, so you have not come here with hostility?"

"I am hostile now!" Ochenkov bellowed and the people surrounding began to wail and cry fervently to their lords, the murmur among them growing louder every time the general tried to speak. "I come here for bed and food, stay a night maybe. Find I am trapped instead. Is this how you treat guests? Trapped like animal?"

"Well you see, mister guest," the minister said as he bent over to speak into Ochenkov's ear, "we don't like outsiders. Outsiders like to interfere with the workings of Mazarrat and the Grand Machinations and so we take precautions to insure this does not happen."

The barbarian puzzled over the name for a bit, trying to recall Mazarrat from his teachings on Enianism. He had his own spiritual customs, but part of working for the Enian Army meant understanding the national religion. He was sure he had heard the name before, if he could just remember.

"Mazarrat?! Mazarrat the Tormentor? Ishiyama fights Mazarrat in...in spirit world. Mazarrat is the evil in-"

"No my friend," the priest cut off Ochenkov. "You have been misguided, taught incorrectly by the oppressive government of this nation! They have corroded away the values given to us by Mazarrat and created a false idol for us to worship." The man turned back to the crowd as he said this, raising his arms high and wide and was greeted with a massive uproar. He returned to Ochenkov, the cruel smile back on his lips. "We shall free you from these ideals, help you to understand how Mazarrat, the Great Master, works. He wishes to save humanity, save it from itself, and give us all strength and guidance. Ishiyama serves as the Enemy to Salvation! Don't worry, you will see soon enough." The minister turned and began to walk back towards the congregation of people, who again parted for him.

"And if I do not?"

The priest stopped momentarily. "Then we will sacrifice you for our god," he said over his shoulder. "I am Zolraq, hand of Mazarrat. You will learn to fear me, either righteously or in cowardice." Zolraq took his leave and the throng of villagers followed like children.

Three stayed behind once all was said and done. Two were enormous brutes, as hulking and intimidating as Ochenkov himself. The third was an old man, using a cane to support himself with one hand, a tome tucked under his other arm.

Slowly and with great effort, the elderly person took a seat on the floor in front of Ochenkov and lay the massive book out in front of himself. It was covered in some of the symbols that Zolraq had been wearing, and the more Ochenkov looked at them, the more they tried to turn into something cohesive, sliding and morphing until they resembled a twisted inverted version of the cross of Enianism. The barbarian had to turn away and close his eyes; staring at is any longer seemed to make his head ache.

"Bless you Mazarrat," the old man said, raising his hands up into the air. "You have given me the strength and will to continue with my life, so that I may pass on your teachings to each and every soul you direct at me." With that, the tome was opened, the ageing pages crackling as they were leafed through. Finally, one was settled on and the sermon began...

* * * * *

Mr. Toriyama's lecture concluded almost perfectly in synch with the bell to end the class. Porter sat bolt upright at hearing it, having dozed off somewhere in the middle when they had been discussing Goliath weight distribution properties.

The teen watched as Ardwen and Nami both scooped up piles of notes they had taken and stuffed them into overflowing bags. Porter looked down at his own backpack beneath his desk. His had never come close to looking like that, except one time when he filled it with snacks and it had exploded in the middle of class.

Even Raul had been marking things down during the teachings, making Porter wonder if he had just missed out on something critical. He gathered up his belongings anyways, like the rest of the class, and gave out a tremendous sigh, glad to be finished the schooling for the day.

"Wait class," Mr. Toriyama said, stopping everyone in their tracks as they all groaned. "Remember, the test on today's subject matter will be next Wednesday. That gives you one week to study, right Porter?" Mr. Toriyama raised an eyebrow and grinned a little as all eyes turned to face a red-faced Porter.

"Of...of course Mr. Toriyama. I wouldn't miss it." Porter punched himself in the head mentally and his eyes flickered, scouring the area for a Nami or Riya he could mooch notes off of.

"Right well this also gives all of you plenty of time to prepare for the annual Saint Maurius Academy school dance on Friday. Unfortunately we all missed it last year with that terrible fire incident in the gym..." Everyone's eyes shifted over to Chase, who chuckled a little and high-fived a few supporters. "But this year it is one hundred percent guaranteed to happen, regardless of any individual actions taken by specific people who will not go named. Remember class, voting will open up the night of for school captain, as well as for Miss Ishiyama, so stop trying to cheat and get the votes in now!"

Upon hearing this, a cry went up from Chase's crowd. He was the frontrunner to grab the title of school captain this year, claiming an assortment of different prizes, including the clearing of any bad record he might have at the school, as well as bragging rights as the official king of the academy. Ardwen watched all of this, steaming and scheming of ways to possibly steal away that title.

"Oh I almost forgot," Mr. Toriyama said, once again drawing out another groan as people stopped. "This year there will also be a new prize for best couple at the dance. So boys, start working up the courage to ask out those ladies. I hear that the prize for winning that is just as good as school captain." Mr. Toriyama winked as an excited ripple travelled through the class before everyone shuffled out.

Chase and Ardwen nearly ran into each other just outside in the hallways though, as they both crossed each other's path to go to their rooms.

"Ardwen."

"Chase."

There was a silence that passed through the hall as students gathered to watch the impending argument. Porter found himself jostled around until he was next to Riya. She turned to look at him and reached down to squeeze his hand a little, again letting out that smile of hers before turning back to look at the coming fight. Porter, on the other hand, looked back over his shoulder towards where he suspected Rick to be hiding and was greeted by a little flicker of static near the ceiling.

Then Porter felt a tug on his other arm and found Nami had attached herself to it, nestling up to her dream boy and sticking like glue. The weary boy shook his arm a little to try and remove her but to no avail. In fact, she seemed to come closer, her grasp growing tighter. He shook harder. Violently. He lifted the little girl right off the ground as he tried to remove her but it was useless. Then it began.

"I'm going to take that captain title from you Chase! Don't be so smug about it!"

"Oh really? Well what about couple of the year? I think I'll take home two trophies after this dance egghead!"

"All I see is a bunch of hot air blowing around mister single. You don't have a date for the dance anyways!"

"Neither do you!"

"Oh but I will because I have a girl in mind!"

"So do I!"

"I'm asking Nami!" The two said in unison, their heads touching as they eyed each other, electricity shooting between them and sparks flying. In a flash, Raul had stepped in, grabbing each of the arguing teens and pulling them apart.

"That would be impossible," Raul stated calmly, "because I will be asking out Nami."

"No way!?" Ardwen and Chase shouted, struggling to pull out of the older boy's grasp as the three began to tussle.

"It seems we have reached an impasse." Mr. Toriyama's voice cut above the crowd as he made his way through to the centre. "Sounds like a fight for Nami in the making. But you boys might have someone else to contend with."

The three immediately ceased their war to look up at the teacher. "Who?"

"Porter!" Mr. Toriyama pointed towards the accused pilot and the group of students parted to expose Porter trying desperately to peel Nami off of his limb.

The three suitors stood up, grinding their teeth and grumbling angrily, each one slowly advancing towards the new target of their rage. "No wait guys, it's not what it looks like," Porter desperately explained.

"Then why are you holding her so close?!" Chase demanded.

"Uhm, well you see..." Porter's eyes darted around, looking for an answer but finding nothing. "Seriously, you guys can have her! Take her, I don't want her! She's just attached to me!" Porter finally managed to pry Nami off himself and began to back away from the advancing bachelors.

"Get him boys!" Mr. Toriyama shouted, much to everyone's surprise, and the three charged forward, bellowing out their hatred for Porter, the home-wrecker and dream-crusher, as Porter took off down the hall, sprinting for his life. The battle for Nami had begun!

A/N: A triumphant return to the school but the announcement of the dance? Can Porter survive through the epic fight for Nami's heart? And what's going on with Ochenkov?! Find out more next time!

Thanks for reading, as always. Love the comments and support from everyone!