Wherever the pale-green-energy-powered rockets and missiles hit, there was destruction. Trees were set ablaze or brought down, shards of glass, metal pipes, pieces of cement and other essentials in a building’s structure flew in different directions, vehicles were blown up, smoke rising from all around. And that was only the non-human element of the situation.

If that had been all the damage the barrage of enemy attacks had caused, it would’ve been acceptable, but what was truly terrifying was the fate of the people caught up in all this. They were spread all around, running in a mass panic, some shouting, some screaming and some – crying. Most had managed to survive without any serious wounds, but here and there one could see bloodied, burned and even ripped bodies or parts of them fallen or being thrown through the air by one of the explosions.

It was in such an environment Exo and his classmates were forced to move as they provided cover for the civilians they had evacuated from the Octohorn Ring. Among those civilians were some deviants as well, but all of them seemed too frightened at the moment to use their devas for any purpose whatsoever. Which was why the protective duty fell entirely on the Martians’ shoulders.

The techno-genius himself was plenty terrified, but focusing on guarding the people around him helped take his mind off the threat of death from the coming attacks. He was after all, the member of his class best suited to defend others, so the group relied mostly on him right now and he could not let the hot heads down.

Combining the light metals he could use with Yonira’s earth deva, the two made multi-layered rectangular sheets of metal and rock to cover everyone, those sheets being carried above the people’s heads on platforms made of light created by Annabel. If any attacks happened to go through the two-element shields, Vega deflected them with his pale green energy whips, King moved the civilians in the way of the projectiles aside with his Daroid or Tokura teleported those attacks away with his Flexoid.

The other girls from the class provided additional support, with the two healers in their ranks aside from Annabel healing whoever had been wounded during the first wave of the enemy attack while on the move. Several of their classmates protected each of those so they could devote their full attention to their patients, the Martians eventually going ahead of the wave of destruction, causing all of them to stop. The group could take a moment to rest, the protective sheets and platforms the sheets were carried on being removed, the blocking and deflecting of attacks stopping just as the healers finished their first-aid treatment.

(Yonira) ‘-We did it, guys!’

(Keiry D) ‘-Don’t get all giddy just yet, Yoni. Look up. (she pointed at the sky, where many of the two types of aircrafts the enemies used were splitting in different directions) It’s not that we outran them. They just finished their initial assault on this area and have started moving to others. But it’s only a matter of time before some troops start landing here.’

(Annabel) ‘-In that case, we better complete the mission Lawell-sensei gave us as fast as possible.’

(King) ‘-You do that, girls. (the Martians turned to King now, Vega and Tokura standing by his side, each of the three looking more serious than the next) The three of us are going back to the beach to back up our guys there.’

Exo couldn’t tell how long had passed before anyone spoke again, only registering that by the time that happened, the people evacuated from the Octohorn Ring had ran off, the students being left alone. All of them stared at the three boys as they now had quite the awkward smiles on their faces.

(Vega) ‘-We three had decided right from the start to only help you get the civilians far enough from the beach and once that was done, to go back. The four crazy bastards there plus Lawell-sensei and Hikaru’s uncle are going to need all the help they can get.’

(Tokura) ‘-And the more there are of us back on the beach, the more enemies we’ll be able to keep there. That will give you girls more time to get to the chip controller safely and disable it.’

(Aria) ‘-If that’s how it’s gonna be, some of the girls can come with you, too! It won’t take all of us to disable one damn controller!!’

(King) ‘-That thing controls the devas of everyone within the city, Aria – over 30 000 devas. There’s no telling what kind of defences it’s going to have. But whatever they are, I think you’ll stand a far better chance at dealing with them then facing the armies that are already on the beach. So get going now.’

Exo had remained silent during the exchange between the girls and the boys up to that point, his genius mind working at an ever faster pace than usual to determine if everyone was making the right choices at the moment. And more importantly – he was contemplating what the right choice was for him.

He knew full well fighting on the beach meant certain death – if not the immediate type, then the one that involved getting wounded, captured, tortured for information and finally killed. The metal-using defender didn’t want to get hurt, much less so – killed. Which was why running away was a perfectly acceptable option, whether using the disabling of the chip controller as an excuse to stay away from the fight or not.

But then there was another issue – he didn’t want to see his classmates get hurt or killed as well. And more and more of them seemed hell-bent on getting themselves in situations where only death awaited them.

Before the Class Battle, Exo had thought that his life would always be his main priority if he were to get in a dangerous situation, but that experience had changed the way he viewed such things. He had cared about his classmates the most back then to the point where he had risked his life just to help them even a little bit.

The present situation was much different, however. Simply protecting others would not be sufficient if he entered the battle on the beach. The techno-genius would have to fight back. To hurt. To KILL.

And he wasn’t certain if he was capable of all those things, even if it meant protecting the ones he cared for. Just as every other time he was in danger, he was too afraid to even think about going on the offensive. But he wasn’t too afraid to try and save his friends.

(Exo) ‘-What about me? Did you ever stop to think what my opinion on the matter is? I’m the smartest one here, after all.’

The other Martians hadn’t paid him much attention until his voice was heard, now turning to the metal-using defender, the boys’ three smiling at him.

(Vega) ‘-You’re the smartest, Ex, which is why you should be with the group that’s gonna hit that controller. No one else can disable it as fast as you. Plus, someone needs to look after the girls. We didn’t ask you because as I said, the THREE of us had planned to do this from the start. Your role was clear from the moment the attack began.’

(Exo) ‘-But that’s not your decision to make!!’

(King) ‘-You wanna come with us to the beach, then?’

(Exo) ‘-That’s not what I’m saying! I was actually going to suggest we stick together with no one else going to the beach! Enough lives are being put in danger there already! I don’t want to lose anyone else!!’

(Tokura) ‘-Which is exactly why we’re going back. To protect those imbeciles. And I’m sure you knew what we planned to do from the start, Ex, so just go with it. Disable that controller as soon as possible to give us a better fighting chance.’

(Annabel) ‘-You blockheads seem to have really made up your minds about this. (she sighed, looking over at Keiry D) What do you think, Keiry? Is this the best way to go about things?’

(Keiry D) ‘-If you’re asking me from a purely strategic point of view, than yeah, Bel, this is the best way. Everyone should stick to what we’re good at. (she looked around at the other girls) We’ve always been the support group. Although Mei’s new, she’s a main star as much as the others who’re already on the beach, so she belongs with them. (her eyes focused on Vega, King and Tokura now) And so do these three. We’ll let them handle the enemy’s main forces.’

(King) ‘-Thanks, Keiry.’

The smile of the smartest girl in Martian Class #1 was quickly replaced by a most stern look after the giant’s gratitude.

(Keiry D) ‘-But don’t any of your dare die before we take out that controller, you got that? Once we disable it, I’ll be at a 100% output and I’ll be able to tell if any of you has died. If I sense something like that, all of us are coming straight back to the beach to help you.’

Vega, King and Tokura gave a thumbs-up to their female classmates with wide and ever-so-confident smiles, Exo just standing there and staring at them while cursing himself for being too weak to change the outcome of this situation.

(Vega) ‘-You’ve got it!’

(Tokura) ‘-Though our survival depends on how fast you ladies will be, so it’s actually all up to you! (the three moved away from the rest of the Martains, giving the group one last look, at which point Tokura shouted at Exo) I’m leaving these beauties in your care, Ex, so make sure they’re all alive and well the next time we see each other!’

The pseudoknight proceeded to tap the drunkard and the giant, enveloping all three in his azure energy that teleported them away in the blink of an eye. Just like that the quartet the techno-genius was a part of had disappeared, only him being left behind as the coward he was.

He knew why the others had chosen to go back to the beach without him. It wasn’t simply because he could be of use in disabling the chip controller, but because he would be of absolutely no use in the big battle currently fought by the sea. King had even asked him if he wanted to fight beside them and the techno-genius had proven he lacked the resolve to do so with his answer. War was simply something this young man was not built for and if there was ever anything that could separate him and his friends it would be precisely that – the one obstacle he could not overcome.

Aria tugging at his shoulder shifted his attention away from such thoughts, the metal defender realizing only then that the rest of the Martian girls had moved further down the street with only him and the healer being left behind.

(Aria) ‘-You coming, Ex? Remember, we’ve got no time to lose. I’m worried about our guys at the beach, too, but the best we can do for them now is get to the controller. Let’s go.’

Was that it, Exo wondered? Was disabling the controller really the most he could contribute with in his present state?

Not having the patience to wait for him any longer, Aria dragged him with her as she ran to catch up with her classmates, by the time the techno-genius realized what was happening, the two having reached the Martian girls who had come to a sudden stop. The reason for that was the silhouette that had appeared in front of the group, revealing itself under the light of the surrounding explosions to surprise them. It was a woman in her mid thirties that seemed slim to an unhealthy degree under her blue tank top, her armor covering the arms from the shoulders to the elbows and her skin-tight black leather pants. Her skin was very pale, her head – completely bald, her icy blue eyes – with deep dark circles under them and her lips – covered with dark blue lipstick.

Thankfully, the surprise was a welcome one – Neana Ilre, Sunbird’s headmistress and the back-up Zoran had called for the hot heads – had found them, at the present looking around the members of their group.

(Neana) ‘-You lose some class members along the way?’

(Annabel) ‘-The rest went back to the beach to support Lawell-sensei and Hikaru’s uncle.’

The former school nurse seemed to only be slightly annoyed by the answer of the Martians’ chief medic, showing no other reaction.

(Neana) ‘-They better keep Zoran safe. (she got another look at all the members of the group before facing forward) Let’s go, then. The police should be on the move already so it shouldn’t be too hard to find one of them around here.’

Exo himself had hardly registered the headmistress’ arrival for his internal struggle raged on, poisoning his mind with conflicting thoughts. The logic he had always prided himself for having battled with the madness he had developed from spending so much time with his classmates. And after all these years, tonight was the night the conflict between those two governing forces of his life would end with only one emerging victorious.

But the victor remained unclear and the longer that struggle continued, the harder it was going to be for him to focus on anything. If anything, the coward did at least manage to notice the Martian girls were looking at him with worried faces, probably being able to guess what he was thinking of, yet none daring to offer him advice.

Miss Ilre was much less patient than any of the coward’s classmates, however, pushing the others aside and reaching him moments later.

(Neana) ‘-If you plan on slowing us down, Exo, I’m going to leave you right here.’

(Exo) ‘-I just don’t know … I don’t know what to do. I want to go after the ones on the beach. I want to live. I want to help everyone. There’s just so much stuff I want and no way to …’

Neana sighed, poking the techno-genius’ head.

(Neana) ‘-Alright. I’ve had enough of that.’

(Yonira) ‘-Headmistress, what did you just do?!’

(Neana) ‘-I gave him something that will help put an end to his struggle because I can’t afford to wait for him any longer. The rest of you follow me while he sorts things out. Now!’

It had taken a while for what Neana had done to affect Exo, but eventually it did, the techno-genius remembering what the headmistress’ deva was then. She could restructure all sorts of things, in this case having done so with his brain, which was why it felt as if his head was splitting apart at the moment. All the while different memories flashed before his eyes at a mind-boggling speed to make the experience all the more unbearable, Exo grabbing his head in a futile attempt to dull out the pain.

The pain did stop at one point, though, the coward opening his eyes now to find himself inside a classroom. Only it wasn’t any of the classrooms in Sunbird.

He was currently in a primary school, spotting a younger version of himself, no older than 9, on one of the desks in the room with the most timid expression he had ever seen. Then he realized what this was. Miss Ilre had found the memory of the day he had met the main group of hot-heads from his current class and made Exo relive it with her restructuring ability.

Hikaru and Seiren had already started fighting, the pervert not yet having the sleeve and stocking over his left arm and lower right leg, Tokura being the one to break up their squabble this time around, which was how the rivals actually got introduced to him.

(Hikaru) ‘-Is this some kind of curse, Blackscale?! I change schools and end up in the same class as you again?!! That’s simply not possible!!’

(Seiren) ‘-You took the words right out of my mouth, Summerbolt! The upside of this is that maybe I’ll finally be able to kill you to end this curse!!!’

The classroom’s door opened just then as Tokura put a hand on the shoulders of each of the rivals.

(Tokura) ‘-Can you two cut it out? My first class in this city is about to start and I’d like to do that in peace, if possible.’

Hikaru and Seiren turned their heads to the future pseudoknight, seeming simultaneously annoyed and confused.

(Hikaru) ‘-Just what the hell are you doing, kid?’

(Seiren) ‘-If you want to start your school year in peace, go find the right class for you, cuz this one definitely isn’t it! What are you, like a first year?’

Needles to say, this infuriated Tokura, who had always been annoyed when someone mistook him for a younger person than he actually was, saying nothing in response to the duo’s remarks but instead resorting to action. His invisible shield formed around him, not being as powerful as in the present, but still managing to push the mad genius and pervert’s desks aside, shocking them further.

(Tokura) ‘-I’m the same age as you, you bastards!!! And stop showing off your devas as although I look younger, I’m much stronger than the two of you combined!!’

Some of the ordinari students around were now terrified, the same being valid for the ordinari homeroom teacher that had entered the room when Mr. Braveheart’s rampage had started.

(Ordinari Student) ‘-How many deviants are there in this class?! And aren’t their devas supposed to properly awaken during puberty?!!’

(Ordinari Student) ‘-Someone call security or something! Get them away from us!!’

(Ordinari Student) ‘-I wanna go to another school already! The further away from such freaks, the better!’

Exo still remembered how his younger version felt upon hearing that as in that moment he had realized what kind of environment he had come in.

He had moved to Barilia from another country where deviants had much more power than the ordinari and where power was genuinely valued above all else. Being branded a weakling because of his pacifistic demeanor, the boy had been banished from his home and sent to Barilia, facing a different nightmare here – the disdain the ordinari in power had for the deviants.

As the coward thought about how he was going to survive his present predicament, someone next to him jumped at one of the kids who were badmouthing deviants, that someone being Vega – born in Deckstoru but with a complicated family history that made him even more of an outcast than if he had simply been a deviant.

(Vega) ‘-You’re acting like this is our fault, you fu**ers!! We didn’t ask to be put in here! There was simply no other place for us!!’

The future drunkard created bursts of pale green energy to make the situation worse, the homeroom teacher returning with the two school guards on duty to bring order to the room with force, this prompting a response from King – someone who both hailed from another country and had complicated family history.

He entered his giant form, which at the time only made him as tall as a fully-grown man, but he was still much bigger than his classmates, using his Daroid as well to stop the guards before they could get to where Hikaru, Seiren, Vega and Tokura were.

(School Guard) ‘-Stop this at once! Your abilities awakening so early will get you in enough trouble, so don’t make things worse with your behavior!’

(King) ‘-You two back up or things are definitely gonna get worse! Since you seem to be pretty scared of all our awakened devas, don’t test any of us to see what we can do!!’

(Ordinari student) ‘-It’s a deviant infestation!! Get them out of here! Please!!’

(School Guard) ‘-Do we have any deviant teachers in the building? If there are, get them to come here and help us! We can’t handle this alone!!’

The homeroom teacher ran out in the corridor again, Exo suddenly falling on the ground due to the fact than one of his classmates had pulled his chair from under him to use as a weapon to hit King with in the back. The moment he saw that, the future techno-genius reacted purely on instinct.

A rectangular metal wall rose from the floor, blocking the attack, the clatter of the chair’s metal legs against the metal of the wall drawing the giant’s attention who soon enough saw the one responsible for that. With his characteristic idiotic smile, he went over to the both scared and confused Exo, picking him up and throwing him on his back as the two looked at each other, the Daroid user joining the other four members of the deviant group. Around the same time, Annabel and Aria’s younger versions joined them as well to stand up to the ordinari students, the guards and to anyone else who had a problem with them.

(King) ‘-Thanks for that, man! What’s your name?’

(Exo) ‘-E-Exo. Exo Drazz.’

(King) ‘-Great to meat ya! I’m King!’

(Vega) ‘-Can we leave the introductions for later? We’re in a whole lot of trouble right now!’

(Exo) ‘-Wait a moment! Shouldn’t we just stop this already?’

(Annabel) ‘-We may have started this, but I’m not about to back down against anyone who looks down on deviants!!’

(Aria) ‘-If they call us a disease, we might as well prove them right!!’

(Exo) ‘-But why?’

The class’ homeroom teacher returned with a couple of more teachers, at which point Tokura focused all the energy of his shield in his foreheard, heading for them to strike a killer head-butt.

(Tokura) ‘-Because they’ve got no chance if we’re together like this!’

Hikaru and Seiren suddenly picked up the future ‘big’ battering ram of the Martians, using him exactly as a ram as they ran to meet the ordinari students and guards’ reinforcements.

(Hikaru, Seiren) ‘-ATTACK!!!!’

Exo had only been in Deckstoru for a short amount of time back then and had already got himself in trouble but more important than that – he had found a group to belong to. All of them were hot heads that had one issue or another, somehow brought together on that day and having great teamwork right from the start.

It had been the first time in the techno-genius’ life that his logic could not explain how something had happened and a phenomenon he would experience many times over again in the future – every time he was together with the same group. Eventually he would realize they had something stronger than logic – they had a madness that united them and made them stronger than any of them could imagine – strong enough to overcome absolutely ANYTHING.

They had been just kids back then and had managed to survive somehow, so what was there to fear now that they were all grown-up? The answer was quite simple: the only thing to fear was not getting to the hot-headed trio that had gone to the beach in time to help them. Whenever this group was together, things always worked out, no matter how impossible that seemed. So after the memory ended, Exo just ran back toward the beach, driven by the hope that the same would happen this time around – the hope of madness his friends had given him.