"Among some of you," Mr. Toriyama explained, pacing back and forth at the front of the class, "will be heavy weapon users. Your Goliaths will be outfitted with high-impact weapons, or your personal Goliath, if you have one, has some similar device on it. For you, this next lesson may not entirely apply. For the rest of you, it is quite useful when dealing with larger foes or armoured ones."

Toriyama quickly spun on his heel to face the class, his eyes scanning through them for anyone who wasn't paying attention. His gaze met with Raul's for a second and he quickly moved on to another student. He couldn't stand to look at that ruffian for too long without feeling intimidated and he couldn't let his students see that. Chase was playing around on a little computer he held in his hand, a small cube that projected images. Chase was trying his best to hide it between his legs but the glow on his face exposed his secret. The teacher took a mental note to put Chase through detention later.

Near the front, Nami and Ardwen were both staring straight ahead, each competing with the other to be the better pupil. They had a variety of different electronic and physical notebooks arranged on their desks. Toriyama sighed a bit in his mind, not sure if he preferred the uncaring attitude of Raul in the back or the overbearing approach from the twin students at the front.

In the middle of the class, Toriyama noted Porter, whose eyes were pointed straight towards the back of Riya's head. He had yet to turn on the electronic notepad in front of him, even though they were two hours into the class, and Toriyama pondered about different forms of punishment for the youth but then remembered his own behaviour when he had been in love at first and let it slide. Then he took a quick mental note to send flowers to Ms. Sakura to avoid getting killed later for future problems he was sure to bumble his way into with her.

"We are going to go over the microburst technique, or microburst theory originally before it was put into practice." As Mr. Toriyama went to turn on the screen on the wall so he could continue the lesson, he saw a hand shoot up from the corner of his eye. It was Chase, with a grin on his face that was far too arrogant for someone with such low grades.

"So, if this is a technique, shouldn't we be learning it in combat training? Or will you actually fight today sir?" The rest of Chase's posse snickered around him before the teen resumed playing on the device between his legs.

"We used to cover it in traditional training," Toriyama replied through a clenched jaw. He held back a slew of other remarks that buzzed through his head and then quickly released the tension in his mouth, hearing the voice of his dentist scolding him for grinding his teeth again. "But, as combat in Goliaths moved away from specialized fighters into standard soldiers and armies, they found it couldn't fit in the curriculum, and wasn't incredibly useful in most situations. You really need to be engaged in a one-on-one match for this to work and most of you will not experience that, or at least won't have the right conditions met."

The board on the front wall lit up with a model of a fairly big Goliath, one coated in additional armour plating around its chest. It spun a little to give the students an idea and time to jot down notes. "Now, for microburst theory, we need to have an enemy who is larger or stronger than us. In this case we have both. Their defense is impregnable to traditional attacks and standard issue guns. In the time it would take you to beat them, you would expend all of your energy while they would give up miniscule amounts, and hold an overwhelming advantage. However..."

Toriyama paused, both for dramatic effect, and because his slide show wasn't functioning properly and moving to the next segment he had planned. He secretly mashed the button on the remote behind his back until the computer finally complied, showing an array of tiny dots around the model battlesuit's chest area. "Microburst theory runs on the concept that a collection of smaller, weaker attacks can make a single, focused attack significantly more powerful. So, if we were to deliver strikes here, here, here, and here..." Toriyama touched four of the dots in a square pattern around the model. He then dragged his finger to the middle of the Goliath, creating a line.

"As you can all see, all four lines direct to the middle. This means, for microburst to be successful, we must attack on an angle that directs towards the centre. Hitting them from the front would simply create four different forces heading backwards, into the air, and that does us no good. But with these four attacks all directed towards the middle, we have a cluster of forces that, while individually weak, make something quite strong, provided we hit the focal point." Toriyama tapped the Goliath on the chest and a much larger circle appeared.

"Of course, you have a very small window with which to do this. The force generated from each of the lighter strikes will fade with time, and you will have to work set them all up as fast as possible. Typically, four should be enough, and sometimes three works. It would take too long for most of you to set up anything beyond four points. Also, and this is critically important, the blow you deliver to the middle is only going to be amplified. If you are going to take the time to set up the microburst technique, you will need to make sure you are connecting with a finishing attack. Another weak strike will only result in a mild hit. You must attack with your full force or the enemy has a chance to counter."

* * * * *

Porter watched Ardwen's notes from class as they appeared on a viewscreen in his cockpit. He tried his best to absorb the information and begin to follow it, dodging out of the way of the Mahari's swings as he continued to force it to move to get to him. So long as he was maintaining a distance he bought himself a second at a time.

The White Storm crackled with electricity as Porter began to shift into the offensive, forced to combine his defensive dodging with aggressively attacking specific points on the beast. It seemed that the microburst technique, from what Ardwen was explaining, concentrated on a certain point, and since most Goliaths held the cockpit in the chest, the technique's finish blow was delivered there. Since the Mahari presumably had a red core like the other Bahari, Porter would just have to translate the technique over and hope for the best.

The youth flew through the air, leaping off the ground to dodge the fist of the Mahari. He brought his twin swords down on its shoulder, striking carefully to avoid getting his weapons stuck in its thick body once more. He took off again immediately afterwards, disappearing and leaving behind nothing more than a fleeting image of his battlesuit. The Mahari didn't flinch to the attacks, hardly noticing it as it tried to keep up with Porter's speed.

Unfortunately for the White Storm, the Mahari's arms could certainly keep up with the Goliath, or at least come close; only its feet were sluggish, and since Porter had to come in close to strike, the beast had its opportunity. Porter appeared at the monster's opposite shoulder, floating in the air upside down as he tumbled to avoid the creature's flailing arms. He threw an overhead chop downwards, before vanishing again as the Mahari's hand swatted at it shoulder.

Damn, Porter thought, that was way too close. I'm slowing down now. Porter sliced at the behemoth's ribcage before dropping down towards its hip. He would go for a six-point attack, and even though Ardwen's note seemed to stress no more than four, Porter was fairly certain he would need the extra power, and he was more than capable of going fast enough. At least, he guessed he was.

The monster's hand shot straight down to its side, clipping Porter as he threw an elbow into the beast's hip, angling it upwards towards its chest. The Mahari clipped the White Storm, brushing it on the back and smacking Porter forwards into the abomination's side. He was jarred for a moment, his seat shaking deep within the battlesuit, but he quickly ducked and threw up his swords, deflecting the monster's next attack aside.

He rolled under the creature, popping up on the other side and throwing up an identical elbow strike to the other side. Only one more spot left for him to hit, and he was beginning to feel the effects of exerting his chi to this extent. His exhaustion was mixing with the damage he had taken from the Mahari's attacks, amplifying them both and wearing down on his psyche and his body. The White Storm was not designed to take such heavy blows, mostly due to no Goliath ever having been designed to be so big yet move so fast. It was physically impossible for machine alone, but nature and robot combined seemed to break the limit.

Porter swung his sword into the monster's ribcage, the White Storm's computer system tracking the sixth projected impact point and mapping it on another screen. With all of them lit up, he just needed to finish it off with a strike to the Mahari's chest and this would be over...in theory.

"I really wish you paid attention in class sometimes." Ardwen's voice chimed in through the communication network, distracting Porter for a moment.

"Yeah, sorry, I swear if we get back I'll definitely study harder."

"I thought you were going to do that the last time we came back to the academy." Porter's face flushed a bit as he had been caught, and then he was suddenly spinning through the air, the Mahari wasting no time in trying to bat away the White Storm, taking advantage of Porter's lapse in concentration. He smashed into the ground on his back, bouncing off the earth and twisting through the air. His own piloting combined with the White Storm's automatic alignment sensors to spin him around, helping him land on his feet , staring up at the Mahari as it approached him once more.

"You've got a dwindling window here Porter," Ardwen reminded him from his perch. "It's now or never."

Porter staggered forwards, half-heartedly raising his swords up and then pulling them back. His head was swimming, his vision beginning to blur as he could feel the electricity drain out of his body, seeping into the chair around him and dissolving in the framework of the White Storm. He was running out of energy and his body was running out of time, not handling the numerous blows he had received that had shaken through to his core. Still, he had to finish this, to protect everyone around him, to defeat the evil in front of him. He leaped forwards, aiming to surprise the monster and destroy its heart.

"What did I miss?" Riya bounced up next to Ardwen to watch, coming in to Porter's network and cockpit as he flew through the air. He felt a tiny surge in his body as he heard her comforting voice, and was reminded what it was he was fighting to keep safe.

"Oh, you know, just Porter doing something insane. The usual." Ardwen snorted at the end, thankful this would be over momentarily.

But the Mahari batted Porter away, easily swatting the White Storm out of the air as its speed faded away. The monster felt no pain and suffered no injuries, the hive mind powering its incredible movements regardless of how much damage it sustained. Porter crashed back down onto the ground, sliding on his back as his fingers slowly uncurled from around the controls. His hands were slipping down to his sides as his mind fought against his waning strength. As hard as he tried, he could not command his hands to grab on to the controls again, and his screen was filled with the creature towering over him, its fits raised into the air once more to deliver the final blow.

Ardwen scrambled in his seat, his plans suddenly throw into disarray. Porter wasn't supposed to lose like that, not so suddenly. He had at least hoped he could call someone in to help out or rescue Porter if he had seen him struggling but this was different...this was too fast. "Come on, Porter," he urged over the connection, "you've got to finish it. You're running out of time."

"What's happening?" Riya asked in confusion, his voice cracking a bit with emotion.

"Oh, uhm, Porter is just about to do the final strike, he just...wants to draw it in...closer...before he...yes...final strike." Ardwen scrambled to give an answer that could deflect Riya concern. The last thing he needed was her distracting Porter in these last final moments. He was sure Porter could still muster up a burst of energy before he would be killed. That seemed very much like Porter from all those times before...why would this be any different?

As the Mahari's fist drove downwards, the South Star appeared in front of the monster, sliding under it between its legs and popping up. Chase pulled back a flaming fist and threw it forward, slamming it into the creature's chest. It collided with the beast's own forward momentum, and Chase struggled to suddenly carry the weight of the Mahari on his one punch.

Vents opened up along Chase's arm, jets firing out of them and hot air blasting out in concentrated bursts, powering the fist forwards. There was a strange moment between Chase and the Mahari, where each sat in a standstill, Chase with his fist pressed against the creature's chest and the Mahari with its hand still up in the air, shocked by this sudden attack. Then the behemoth's chest began to crack before Chase's fist burst straight through the outer muscles and metal of the monster, lifting the Mahari off the ground. A splatter of red liquid splashed onto Chase's face as his punch punctured the beast's heart but he did not stop, raising his hand higher and higher before finally throwing it sideways and downwards into the earth , the massive body slamming into the ground.

Chase brushed himself off, standing over Porter for a moment as he surveyed the rest of the battlefield. He looked down at his fallen comrade, holding out his hand to help him up. "See, unlike you, I paid attention in class." Chase smiled inside his cockpit, his confidence overflowing as he knew just how cool he appeared in that moment. Ardwen slumped down in his cockpit as the stress suddenly dissipated all at once, and Riya gave out a cry of jubilation.

"That's my Chase!" Nami cut in over the network, fully recovered from her earlier chi exertions

Porter stared up at Chase, at his friend, the sunlight peeking over the South Star's shoulder, casting its front in shadow. He grabbed onto the hand and hoisted himself up, panting in exhaustion but alive. He couldn't believe it was Chase of all people he owed his life to now. For Porter's number one bully to be standing by his side, Porter's heart swelled up for a moment, swirling with different emotions. Chase placed his finger on Porter's face and pushed the White Storm over again, letting it fall back onto its butt.

"Just remember Porter, I'm the only one who gets to knock you around like that." The group laughed, including Porter, at Chase's usual antics coming up to the surface. Even in the middle of a war, he couldn't help himself.

I really hope, Chase thought to himself as he basked in his own glory, none of them know I only remembered that stupid microburst thing because Toriyama made me write it out a thousand times for detention.

A/N: The conclusion to the Mahari battle finally arrives! But the rest of the war wages on around the CRU!

Just 5 chapters from the big 100! Inspired to write by all the fan support here. The story will live forever!