Chapter One: Prologue

She found herself walking, walking through vast and rough grounds. The wind was blowing ceaselessly, whirling sand everywhere. It was so hard to move, let alone see. If it wasn't for her pilot glasses she would never have been able to walk right through this sandstorm. She could tell by the sand abraded ancient buildings that this extreme weather would never stop and had never stopped for that matter. It was weird, really. How could the wind blow so strong so deep below the earth? She must be miles down, but still the thrusts of dessert like air kept on blowing at high speed, whirling every particle round and round and round, making the tiny sand flakes grind stone temples to ruins season after season. It's so much she doesn't understand about this world, a world so far away from her own. But still she keeps on going, persistent on finding her partner and a way out of this dark forgotten world.

At first she had been running, running like crazy. Searching for any signs of life, but found none. Minutes turned to hours but she kept on running, even when her legs begged her to stop, she would not listen. She searched everywhere, but found no one. No signs of her partner, no signs of anything at all. Sometimes she found herself wondering if anyone was even searching for her, for them. Had they all given up on them, believing them dead? Had Jordan lost faith in her? What about her father? Had he abandoned her again too? She shook her aching head to rid herself of those dark thoughts, and focused instead on the predicament she found herself stuck in.

How long had it been? A week, maybe two, or possibly even longer? All she knew, was that time didn't matter to her anymore. She rested when her body collapsed; she ate when she found something eatable and drank whenever something similar to liquid came her way, except that, time only told her that her chances of finding her partner alive slowly evaporated like water in this warm windy world.

If she was to guess the time right now, she would assume it was well past sundown but she couldn't be sure. Sundown's and sunrises was identical down here, they both were dark, gray-brown and deathly silent. It was like walking through an endless graveyard filled with ancient dilapidated temples. The dread and deathlike silence was thick in the ever-blowing wind, which played with the hollowness of the inhospitable temples covering the sandy ground. The sounds of the wind echoing throughout the netherworld like a warning sign to all trespassers such as herself, telling everyone to stay aware of this dark wild world.

Molly or was it Eva, she wasn't sure anymore. Was she Molly, the girl who suddenly showed up at Wei racing, a stowaway to the far-off planet Alwas and a competitor in the Great Race of Ōban. Or was she Eva, the daughter of Don Wei, president of Wei Racing and the best race manager in the world? Everyone on Ōban knew her as Molly, even her partner Jordan and the Nourasian prince didn't know her well kept secret. Her father was downright ignorant to see the resemblance to his daughter in "Molly" and it took him 17 races to figure it out. The only one, who had seen through her fake façade from the start, was star pilot, Rick Thunderbolt. He had seen her true self, but as fate would have it, he left just as she felt safe enough to trust and rely on someone again. All in all, she felt more like Molly than Eva right now. However, she wouldn't let that stop her. Oh no, she wouldn't be Eva Wei, or Molly for that matter, if she did. She was a determined and stubborn young woman, and Eva wouldn't let anything slow her down. She did escape the boarding school, found her father, travelled to Ōban and raced against the greatest pilots in the universe for a prize so incomprehensible it was downright scary. After living to tell about that, clearly she couldn't just give up now. Hell no, that would be like throwing a part of herself away.

With newly found energy, Eva jumped up from the warm, hard ground. She lowered the pilot glasses from her forehead and placed them once again over her auburn eyes, shielding them from the swirling sand particles. She let her gloved hand gently trace the ancient writing on the temple wall before she stopped at the little entrance to the millennium old ruin she had sought refuge in. She held her breath and closed her eyes, listening for anything out of the ordinary. The wind's silent performance was the only sound that reached her ears, and Eva slowly opened her sharp eyes and scanned the area before her. She slowly stepped out of the safe cover of the temple and began walking in the direction she thought was west. The wind immediately tore through her delicate skin with its strong gusts, whirling tiny but dagger sharp sand particles around and whisking over her fair skin, penetrating the sore and healing flesh. She bit her lip to suppress a whimper as the wind continued to rip through the bare skin on her arms and stomach. She forced the water gathering in her eyes away and kept on going, telling herself to preserve all the fluid she could. She was used to this after so many days out in the wind, getting her skin torn like this every time, but it only got worse and worse not better. Her skin had not yet completely healed and it didn't help getting it all torn up again but she pushed on like it didn't hurt. She had one thought in mind, and that made the pain dull. She had to find Jordan. Her skin was becoming numb to all the gashes spreading across her body. The aching subsided slowly and she let out a breath she was unaware she had been holding. She continued to search, calling Jordan's name repeatedly, but only the wind gave her answers.

Hours went by before Eva slowly made her way into another ancient temple and collapsed against the stonewall. She let her head fall against its warm surface and closed her eyes, listening to her breathing as it calmed down into a low whistling sound. She knew that being out in the wind like this, getting all that flying sand into her lungs wasn't healthy, but she had no other choice. If only she could find Jordan. Together they would find a way to repair the Whizzing Arrow III – if they could find it. Then, they both could get out of this hellhole in a second.

She sighed lowly as she lifted her tired hand and took of the worn glove. She let her fingers brushed against her raw skin and winced as it came in contact with the small gashes covering it. She turned her hand around and saw the blood lingering on her slim fingers. She let her gaze wander over her bruised and bleeding skin and she could still see the tiny sand flakes in her open wounds but the exhaustion made it impossible for her to do anything about it. She gently let her hand fall back into her lap and entwined with the other as she rested her head against the wall once more. She closed her eyes and tried to suppress the pain enough to let exhaustion drag her into a restless slumber.

Eva awoke by her aching and throbbing skin some hours later. She winced as she shifted position. She looked out at the vast wasteland with the a few high dead reeds blowing in the wind. It was just as dead as it always had been, and she suddenly felt like throwing up right there. She hadn't eaten in days and the only liquid she had found was in one of the temples a few miles back. She was so exhausted and malnourished that every movement took its toll. She knew she had to find something to eat, and fast. She whimpered as she rose up on unsteady feet and began half limping to the entrance. Every fiber of her being told her to stay inside the little refuge the ancient ruin provided, but she had to continue the search for Jordan. So she pushed her sore legs forwards, out into the open air.

Regret was the first thing on her mind as she felt the wind once again brush against her raw skin and tearing through it like tiny razor-sharp blades, but she pushed the thought to the back of her mind and continued onward.

She called his name over and over until her throat was sore. She wouldn't stop, even though the rational part of her brain told her that considering the time gone by since the crash, there was no guaranty that Jordan was still alive. However, the other part of her brain, the stubborn part, refused to give up hope. She had to keep on searching. He was her partner for heaven's sake. By now, she had lost the feelings in her legs, leaving only a numb pricking sensation vibrating up and down her slender legs. They carried her swaying body on autopilot until something caught her foot and she stumbled and fell to the ground, face first. She was too tired to get angry and tried to push her body of the ground but her limbs wouldn't listen. The warm sand burned her face. Exhaustion washed over her like waves on a stormy sea, and all she could see before blackness covered her vision was the pink form of a bunny imprinted on something that looked an awfully lot like a part of the Whizzing Arrow III.


And with that prologue, dear readers, I bring you yet another AU-story.

Some short footnotes:

An elaboration on the genre: This fic is going to end up as an Action-Adventure-Science-Fantasy-Angst-Tragedy-Drama-Hurt/Comfort-Romance-Friendship with maybe a little bit of Humor thrown in now and again.

A disclaimer regarding the pairing(s): The pairings aren't decided as of yet. As it stands now, it's more Aikka/Eva/Jordan. As the story progress, I would like to hear your preferences. This will be the primary focus relationship-wise.

A warning about timeframe: As with all multi-chapter stories, I can't vouch for my update schedule, but I'll try to update whenever I can.

And finally, an invitation: If any of you – however many of you there are – leave reviews, I'll try to respond to those of you with accounts with a PM and to those who review as guests, I'll respond to you in the Author's Notes at the end of the chapter I publish next. So, feel free to review!