Author's Note: Characters and concepts are the creative property of Savin Yeatman-Eiffel and Sav! the World Productions.
This is a collaborative work between me and Queenbean3.
Chapter One: The VisitorBy: Queenbean3
As the final bell rang loudly throughout the building, students poured out of the classrooms and flooded the halls simultaneously. Eva Wei was always one of the first to join this throng and lead the rest to freedom. All the tedious lessons and bland lunch food were quickly forgotten as she dashed through the double doors and out on the front steps. School was always a chore to her, but today she had been especially anxious to be free.
Today was a very special day. It came once every year and yet would never come again. She was turning sixteen and for the first time in ten years she would celebrate her birthday with her father. As hover-cars came and went, Eva kept a sharp lookout for his blue vintage model, hugging her satchel to her chest and biting her lower lip.
Just when she was starting to reach for her cell phone and call him she heard a horn honking and a voice calling her name. She looked up happily, but it was not her father's car, or even her father for that matter. It was a dusty pick-up truck with two familiar mechanics waving and grinning at her from the cab.
Confused, she hurried down the steps and up to the vehicle. "Stan! Koji! What are you guys doing here?"
Koji opened the door and slid over to one side to make room for her. "Don Wei had to stay late at the office, so he asked us to come get you."
Eva climbed over his legs and sat between the two young men. "That's weird, I hope nothing's wrong."
"I don't think so." Stan replied, putting the car in gear and driving off. "Just said he was really busy and that he wouldn't be back until later tonight."
"So, how's your school work going?" Koji asked. "If you need any help, you know who to come to."
Eva rolled her eyes at the word school. "It's boring as heck! It would be so much better if the classes were about star-racing. If you can tutor me by flying that would be great."
Koji chuckled. "I'm just a humble mechanic. I'd much rather study how things fly than do it myself."
"Good thing you're the one going to college and not me. I don't have the head for that kinda studying," Stan said, fiddling with the buttons on the radio. A report had come on to give more bad news about the Einherjar and no one wanted to hear that.
He found a music station playing a popular electro-punk song. They listened to it quietly for a while until Eva decided to revive the conversation. "Hey guys, do you know what today is?"
Koji shook his head. "Nope. Anything special?"
"Come on! Can't you guess?"
Stan chewed the toothpick in his teeth thoughtfully then shrugged his brown shoulders. "Sorry, nothing's ringing a bell."
"Wait, I remember," Koji said. "It's the one year anniversary of the Great Race of Oban."
Eva shook her head. "That's not what I meant! There's another reason why today is special."
Stan drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. "Uh ... It's also the first time you met your father in ten years, right?"
Eva scowled darkly, an expression that made her resemble her father far too much for comfort.
Koji quickly attempted to cover up his friend's blunder. "Sorry, that's all we can think of! I'm sure we'll remember it in a bit."
Another song came on the radio. Eva turned up the volume and slouched in a fit of teenage sulking. Neither of the mechanics was brave enough to speak again until they arrived at the Wei family mansion. Stan parked the vehicle in the driveway and cut the engine. "Say, mind if me and Koji come in and grab a soda before heading back to the garage?"
Eva gave a listless shrug in reply. The mechanics followed her up the steps to the front door. When she opened it she was so busy sulking that she was completely unprepared for what happened next.
"Surprise!"
The explosive cheer nearly blasted Eva off the ground in a cloud of confetti and streamers. All her friends from school were standing in the entryway wearing party hats on their heads and huge grins on their faces. In the middle of them was Don Wei wearing the biggest grin of them all.
Eva quickly forgot all about sulking and let a smile light up her face. She entered the house and greeted her friends warmly, receiving plenty of hugs and showers of confetti on the way. She looked back at the mechanics behind her who were grinning like two Cheshire cats.
"You guys were in on this the whole time, weren't you?" she said with a wink.
Koji flashed her a thumbs up. "You bet! We've been planning it for the past week and a half."
"We sure had you going there for a bit, didn't we?" Stan said and gave his partner a high five.
"It was hard enough trying to keep you distracted while I made arrangements," Don Wei said as he brushed some confetti from his daughter's hair. "You're far too curious for your own good."
Eva gave him a big hug and giggled. "I never suspected a thing!"
"Then it was all worth it. But there's still one more surprise for you."
Right on cue who should step out of the kitchen but Rick Thunderbolt himself. All the girls in the room shrieked and squealed at the sight of the famous ex-pilot. Passing them all by, he went straight to the gawking Eva and flashed a smirk that had once been printed on the covers of every racing magazine in the world.
"Happy sweet sixteen, Little Mouse."
Eva gazed three feet up at him with eyes as big as dinner plates. "Rick! Wow, I haven't seen you in ages."
Rick ruffled her hair with his large hand. "Flew in this morning just for you. I'd never miss the birthday of my favorite co-pilot."
She reached up to smooth her hair back down, blushing and smiling sheepishly. "It's so great to see you again. Now it's not just my birthday anymore, it's a team reunion!"
"It's good to be back. Has it really been a year since we last met?"
"There will be time to reminisce later," Don interrupted in an authoritative tone. "For now there's a cake to be eaten and presents to be opened!"
He herded everyone into the dining room where sure enough there was a huge cake topped with sixteen candles. Eva's chair was at the head of the table with balloons tied to it and presents piled up on the floor behind it. When everyone was seated, Don lit the candles and led everyone in singing 'Happy Birthday.' Eva thought of her wish then took a deep breath and extinguished all the flames. Koji took pictures as everyone clapped and cheered, and then Don served cake to everyone.
Next it was time to open presents. Eva started at the top of the stack and worked her way down to the bottom. There were twelve packages in all, one from each of her schoolmates. As she opened each gift she made sure to thank all of the kids by name.
They all knew her well enough to know exactly what she liked and had chosen their gifts accordingly. Jessica gave her a model of a star-racer and Cristina gave a book about the origins of star-racing. Rikki's offering was a set of hair clips with four different styles: pink stars, blue moons, white rabbits and yellow flowers. Devon and Calvin bought CDs of her favorite electro-punk bands, and Talli and Andrew each gave her a necklace. Tessa's gift was a pair of silver earrings, one a star and the other a crescent moon. Tiffany somehow found a doll that looked just like Eva. Her big sister Rian had gotten a black silk handkerchief with a pink rabbit head embroidered on it. Tojot's gift was a blanket, the soft fuzzy kind that went at the foot of the bed until it was needed on cold nights. The last and biggest present was from Nitro. He gave a large and cuddly stuffed bunny that was half Eva's size.
By the time every gift had been opened most of the cake was gone, colored papers and ribbons littered the carpet, and Eva was wearing her new earrings, both necklaces and all her hair clips at once. She turned to her father and her former teammates with a playful wink. "What about you guys? Did you get anything special for the birthday girl?"
Stan looked to Koji and nodded. "Hang on a sec; we gotta get your gift outta the garage." The two mechanics disappeared. They returned moments later with a brand new rocket seat, with her trademark "killer bunny" painted on the front. "Happy Birthday, Eva!"
Everyone gasped and Eva jumped up from her chair to get a closer look. "Oh, my gosh! It's just like the old one I built! How did you do it?"
Koji adjusted his glasses with a proud smirk. "We kinda borrowed your original schematics and made a few improvements on them. It's lighter and more fuel efficient now."
"And it's more responsive, too," Stan added. "So you can pull off some wicked stunts!"
"It's so cool! I can't wait to try it out. Thanks guys, you're the best." Eva used the tackle hug technique to daze and confuse the older men. Koji, who was unaccustomed to physical contact from any woman besides his mother, blushed deeply. Stan was far more experienced with females than his shy companion, and it showed in his satisfied grin.
"Ok, who's next?" she asked as she pulled away. "How about you, Rick? Get me any cool souvenirs from your trip?"
"Funny story about that actually." He bent over in his chair, reached underneath the table and pulled out a mesh cage. Inside was a white rabbit with bright pink eyes. "I found her while I was overseas. I don't know why, but when I saw that rabbit it just felt like I should give her to you. I can't explain it."
Eva giggled and poked her finger through the mesh, allowing the little creature to sniff it curiously with its wiggly nose. "I think she's adorable. I always wanted to have a pet. Does she have a name?"
"It's Misha." Rick answered. He looked oddly surprised after he said it, as if he hadn't known that fact before it came out of his mouth. Suddenly, Eva tackled his muscular abdomen in a hug, catching him quite off guard and brought him close to blushing. He regained enough composure to give an awkward chuckle and pat her head as the other girls squealed in envy.
Eva pulled back, laughing and beaming like the schoolgirl she was. Rick gently pried her arms off his waist and smiled. He was used to women throwing themselves at him, but Eva was not one of those women. "Glad you like her, Little Mouse. I think your dad has a gift for you now. Don't you, Don?"
Don cleared his throat and placed a small gift-wrapped package on the table. "Here you are, my dear," he said, pushing it toward her. His brows were knit together with a mix of worry and hope. "I've been saving this for a very long time, and, well … I think you should have it now."
Eva's giddy mood turned a bit somber as she stood up and took the gift, carefully peeling off the paper. It was a plain wooden box polished to a smooth shine. She recalled seeing it on the desk in her father's office, but never saw what he kept inside it. A tiny lock held the lid fastened shut, but there was a key taped beneath it. Unlatching and lifting the lid, she looked inside.
There was only one item in the box. It was a photo of their family from ten years ago and she clearly remembered the day it was taken. They were all posing by a fountain in a park and she was a rosy-cheeked five-year-old with her parents on either side of her. On her right was Dad with fewer wrinkles and gray hairs, smiling in a way he rarely did now. On her left was Mom looking serene and angelic even while holding ice cream cones out of view.
Eva swallowed a lump in her throat, determined not to cry on her birthday. This was an intensely personal and valuable gift. She had so few photos from that time when life was simple and her family was whole, before the tragic accident that changed everything.
Closing the lid of the box, she looked up at her father and smiled. "I love it, Dad. Thank you so much." Then she looked at all her friends around the table. "Well, now that we've got all that out of the way, let's get this party started!"
The kids all cheered and abandoned the mess in the dining room for more exciting things. The Wei mansion was filled with music and laughter for the next two hours as the thirteen teenagers and the Earth Team celebrated together. They played all kinds of party games, ate more cake, danced and sang, all while making sure to thoroughly trash the house. Some of the highlights included Koji beating everyone at video games and Stan putting the moves on some of Eva's girlfriends. Eventually, it started to get late and parents began arriving to take their children home. Little by little, the number of guests dwindled until only the Earth Team was left to clean up the mess.
As usual, Don gave directions while the others did the actual work. The mechanics were vacuuming confetti off the carpet while Rick stuffed paper cups and plates into a garbage bag. Eva had homework for school tomorrow but she insisted on helping the others by putting things away. Once they were finished, they all gathered in the kitchen for coffee. Eva was sitting at the kitchen table blowing steam off her mug with Stan and Koji seated across from her.
"Now that's what I call a party," Eva said. "Thanks again, you guys. I had a blast."
"Hey, your dad's the one who deserves the credit here," Stan said. "Without him we never could've pulled off a shindig like this!"
Don put his mug down on the counter and shook his head. "I only did the planning and organizing. It's my job as a manager to do that sort of thing."
Koji snickered. "Don't be so modest, sir. You were more excited about this party than any of us. Weren't you the one panicking when it looked like the cake wouldn't be ready on time?"
Eva giggled at her father's annoyed expression. "Well, I'm glad all of us could get together again. We never really got to celebrate winning the Great Race of Oban until now, did we?"
Stan sipped his coffee and nodded. "Yeah, real life took over pretty fast when we got back. Sometimes it's hard to believe the race really happened."
Rick was leaning against the counter brooding over his coffee, steam clouding the lenses of his dark glasses. "You know, something's been bothering me. Why wasn't Jordan here? He was invited, right?"
A hush fell over the kitchen. All eyes turned to Don except for Eva's, which were now staring deep into her mug with an unreadable expression. The manager straightened himself up as best he could and cleared his throat, choosing the words for his response carefully. "I'm afraid Jordan was unable to come. He has some very serious responsibilities now."
Rick sensed there was something more to this answer, but Don's expression gave him no further information. He thought about pushing him to reveal his secret, but the way everyone was sulking told him it was a sensitive subject.
"Oh, that's too bad," he said finally, and took a sip of his coffee while trying to think of something else to talk about.
Just then, there was a gentle knocking at the front door. Don put his mug down on the table. "I'll answer it. Maybe one of the guests forgot something."
He walked out of the kitchen and down the hall. Soon the others heard the door open and two voices speaking. Then the door closed and there were two sets of footsteps in the hall. Don reappeared in the kitchen doorway with an anxious look on his face.
"Eva, bring some coffee to the living room. We have an important visitor you should meet."
Eva was confused but she did as she was told. She poured three fresh cups of coffee and brought them to the living room on a tray. Her father was sitting on the couch across from a dark-haired woman whom she had never met before. She placed the tray on the coffee table and offered a mug to the guest.
"Thank you, young lady," the woman said. "You must be Eva, aren't you?"
The woman looked at her as she accepted the drink, catching Eva by surprise; something about her face looked so familiar. Remembering her manners, she held out her hand and stood up straight. "Yes, ma'am, pleased to meet you."
The woman put both her hands around hers in a surprisingly strong grip. "What a pretty name. It suits you. You look just like your mother, the great Maya Wei. I'm sure she must be very proud."
She felt a bit embarrassed by the praise. "Thanks a lot, ma'am," she said quickly and seated herself next to Don on the couch.
Don sipped some coffee and took a deep breath before speaking again. "Eva, allow me to introduce Mrs. Susan Wilde. She's come a long way to meet us." Hearing the woman's name Eva gasped and almost choked on her drink. She covered it up with a cough.
Susan placed her mug on the table with a serious expression. "I'm sorry to bother you so late in the evening, but I was hoping that you might be able to help me. You see, I've been asking a lot of people about my son, and I heard that the two of you had met him."
Eva was still too shocked to give any reply, so Don did it for her. "We'll try to tell you what we can, Mrs. Wilde."
Susan nodded calmly and began to explain. "One year ago I received a letter from President McMillan saying that my son, Jordan, would be going on a top secret mission to gather intelligence on the Crogs. But then many months passed and I heard nothing from him. When the Great Truce took place between the Crogs and Earth, I went to inquire why Jordan hadn't come back. But they said he had gone MIA and could tell me nothing more." She stared down at her hands, fidgeting with the hem of her skirt. "Please, I know the military is hiding something from me. If you can tell me anything about Jordan, anything, it would give me peace of mind."
Don looked at her with a grim expression. "I would like to help you very much, Madam. But the President has sworn me to secrecy on the subject. The entire mission is classified information. There's very little I'm free to tell you."
She looked back at him with desperation in her blue eyes. "Please, I have a right to know! I lost my husband and my father-in-law to a senseless war, am I to lose my only son as well?" Her hands clenched tightly as her shoulders began to shake. "I ... I know that he's alive somewhere. I can feel it."
Eva's fingernails were digging into the couch cushions. Swallowing a hard lump, she lifted her gaze to the woman across from her. "Mrs. Wilde, I knew your son very well. He and I were good friends."
Tears sparkled in Susan's eyes as half a dozen questions poured from her lips. "You knew my son? How was he? Was he happy? Did he eat well? Did he remember to change his underwear everyday?"
Eva nodded her head and gave a reassuring smile. "From what I saw, you raised him right. He took pretty good care of himself and he was always looking out for me. I owe him a lot." She clasped her hands in her lap and studied her chipped nail polish. "I never knew much about his life before we met. I just never thought to ask. Now I wish I had. There's a lot I should've said to him, before we said goodbye."
Susan dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief. "I don't want you to break your vow of secrecy, but could you at least tell me what his true mission was? It seemed odd that they would send a gunner on a reconnaissance mission."
Noting that his daughter was deep in thought Don took the question for her. "Well, let's just say that the place we went to wasn't the safest. We needed all the protection we could get."
Susan bowed her head. "I see. But he was alive when you parted ways, right?"
"Yes, he was fine," Eva said with a sad smile. "Better than ever."
Susan smiled and wiped a fresh tear away. "Thank you. I needed to hear that. I'm sure his grandfather would be proud of him." Laughing a little she stood up. "I'm sorry. I've kept you long enough. I'd best be getting home now."
The three of them walked to the front door. Don lifted her trench coat from the rack and helped her put it on. It looked like it might have belonged to an officer in the Space Corps.
"Thank you for taking the time to talk with me." Susan said. "If you like, you can come and visit me any time. I could talk to you more about my son."
Eva held the door open for her. "I'd like that a lot. Thanks."
Susan smiled at her warmly and gave her shoulder a squeeze. "No, dear, thank you. You took the time to get to know Jordan and see the sweet boy underneath his tough exterior. I'm happy that he was able to make such nice friends."
They exchanged goodbyes and watched her walk out to her car. Eva slowly closed the door and turned to her father, who was looking at her with deep concern. Her voice was unemotional as she spoke. "Well, it's getting late. I better get some homework done before I go to bed."
Don nodded his head in agreement, brows still forming fresh wrinkles on his forehead. "Yes, you should do that. Good night, Eva. You'll be alright, won't you?"
A very plastic smile appeared on her face. "Of course! Don't worry so much, Dad!" She gave him a quick kiss and hurried down the hall before he could return it, ignoring the three men who had clustered in the kitchen doorway and were eavesdropping the whole time.
Shutting herself up in her room Eva dumped out the contents of her schoolbag onto her desk and attempted to concentrate on her studies. After a solid fifteen minutes of staring at the algebra textbook, she had failed to solve a single equation. Her mind was simply too full of troubled thoughts and painful memories now. She turned on some loud music but the blaring guitars, thumping drums and squealing synthesizers only gave her a headache. Finally, she gave up on getting anything done and prepared for bed.
Eva put on her pajamas, which were just a T-shirt and some boxer shorts, brushed her teeth and crawled under the covers. After tossing and turning for a long time, she fell into the welcome darkness of sleep and soon began to dream.
Her body was floating in space high above the Earth, a canvas of blue and white stretching beneath her feet. Beyond that there was only the inky blackness of space. Lucidity came when Eva remembered that space was a vacuum with no heat or air, and yet she did not feel cold and was breathing quite comfortably. Soon after this realization dawned on her, she noticed a golden light shining up ahead. At first she thought it was the sun, but it was growing closer and changing shape. When its metamorphosis was complete the light had taken the form of a very tall male figure with six spiral tendrils extending from his back in the shape of wings. The only part of the being's form that was not shining with white light was his face.
Eva's heart jumped into her throat and fell to her stomach. She knew that face. A thousand mixed emotions and thoughts swam through her head, leaving her momentarily speechless and frozen. The shining figure gazed back at her with no readable expression in his golden eyes.
Finally, he gave her a warm smile. "Hi, Molly. Long time no see."
She broke from her trance at the sound of her former alias. Mustering up her courage, she opened her mouth to speak. "Jordan … Is it really you?"
"Sort of," he replied. "We're having the same dream. If two people share a dream, they can meet each other. But dreams can be pretty realistic, you know? See for yourself."
He held one long arm out and opened his hand to her. Hesitantly she reached out and touched it. His palm felt surprisingly solid, though not quite the same as a human hand. Even so, her fingers tightened around it as if they would never let go. She looked up at him with a shaky smile, forcing down a knot of emotions.
"I've missed you so much," she said, keeping her voice steady by some miracle. "What were you doing all this time? You must have been so busy on Oban."
Jordan nodded. "Yeah. I've been learning a lot from the Creators. They've been teaching me how to use my powers and to watch over the galaxy." He chuckled dryly. "It's funny, the galaxy is so huge and ancient, but most of it is still just empty space. I've got my work cut out for me!"
Eva couldn't help smiling now. He was a totally different creature, but he was talking as if nothing had really changed. Jordan was still Jordan.
"Do you know who I met today?" she asked. "Your mom came to my house asking questions about you. She misses you very much."
Jordan bowed his head sadly. "I know. I was watching. It's so hard on her, being all alone in that big empty house. I hope you'll visit her whenever you can."
"I will. She seems like a really nice lady. You're lucky to have a mom like that. But why can't you visit her yourself, like you're visiting me now?"
He stared down at his shining body. "Well, look at me. I don't think I could face her, not like this. I'm not really her son anymore; I'm the Avatar now."
Eva frowned and squeezed his hand tighter. "It doesn't matter to her if you're the Avatar or not. She's still your mother! Don't you think she deserves some answers?"
"Which is more painful: thinking your son is dead or knowing he's alive and you'll never see him again?" His golden eyes closed tightly. "You all seemed so happy to finally have your lives go back to normal. I didn't want to ruin that for you."
She drifted closer to him and gently touched his arm. "Jordan," she said softly. "Don't talk like that. You wouldn't ruin anything by coming back. The people who care about you would be happy to see you again. That's what my birthday wish was!" She paused, feeling a bit embarrassed for revealing so much.
Jordan looked down at her, smiling once more. "Yeah, that's why I came to see you. I heard your wish. I couldn't forget my own partner's birthday, could I?"
He winked and her cheeks turned a bright shade of pink. "Oh! Uh, I mean, of course you wouldn't!" She looked at the Earth down below and noticed there was a storm brewing over Florida.
Suddenly, Jordan's voice became very serious. "There was actually another reason why I came, Molly. You're in terrible danger. I've been watching over the cosmos, and I've felt a great evil stirring. It's weak as of now, but it's growing stronger with each day that passes."
Eva looked up at him again in confusion. "Evil? Wait, please don't tell me …" A chill ran down her spine. "Is it … him again?"
Jordan nodded solemnly. "I'm afraid so. Canaletto's after you once again, Molly. He needs you so that he can reclaim the powers of the Avatar."
"But ... but how is that possible? He was killed, wasn't he? I saw his body disintegrate! How can he still be alive after that?"
"Apparently, his powers were so great that only his body was destroyed in that blast. He's been wandering the cosmos, slowly regaining his strength. And you're not the only one he's after: Aikka is in danger as well."
Eva gaped in shock. "Aikka? No, not him, too." Her voice and body began to shake. "I … I don't understand. Why is this happening? I thought we were finally safe from that monster!"
Jordan's serious expression softened. Her placed both hands around her small shoulders and held her tightly. "It's okay, Molly. I don't understand it, either. I've only been Avatar for a year, and I still have so much to learn. But don't worry, I have a plan. I've sent Guardians to take you to Nourasia. They should arrive on Earth by tomorrow afternoon and bring you to where you can meet with Aikka. Then the both of you will come to Oban where I can protect you myself."
Eva's shaking had stopped, but her mind was still reeling from all the information. Jordan sounded so calm and official now, just like the Avatar before him. But then he smiled again and he was back to his old self.
"There's something I want you to have before you wake up." He reached one hand into his chest and pulled out a pair of dog tags, still shining with light for a few moments before he placed them in her hand. "Take these. They'll bring you luck." He grinned. "Happy birthday, Molly."
Eva read the names on the tags and clutched them tightly to her chest, struggling not to cry. "Jordan ... There's one more thing you can do for me." She gazed up at him with pleading ruby eyes. "Please, could you call me Eva from now on? I ... I've wanted to hear you say it so badly."
This request surprised him. "Sure, if that's what you want. Hmm … Eva ..." He said, testing the name and turning it over in his head. "I like it. It's beautiful."
Smiling, she embraced him and let her tears flow freely. Jordan's eyes widened in surprise, but he slowly wrapped his arms around her, smiling as well. It felt so good to hold her again. His time was running out, though, and she had to wake up soon. Reluctantly he pulled back and wiped some tears away. Her ruby eyes gazed at him so longingly and little droplets hovered around her face like tiny crystals.
With a sad smile Jordan released her and floated away, golden sparkles drifting from his dissolving form. "Don't cry, Eva. Soon, we'll be together again, for real. Just wait a little longer ..."
Eva could only watch helplessly as he faded away. When she woke up in her bed she rolled over and stared up at the ceiling, feeling drained and bewildered. The gray light of dawn was shining through the curtains and movement could be heard downstairs. Sitting up, she found the dog tags still in her hand. She stood up and went to her mirror where she placed the chain around her neck and adjusted its length. Once she had a good fit, she looked at the tag with Jordan's name inscribed on it.
She smiled dryly. "Hmm … I guess a few more days of waiting won't kill me."
