The team stood back to admire their work.
"Isn't she beautiful," Stan smiled. "Stronger…faster…safer!"
"It's the Whizzing Arrow III!" Koji announced.
"I can't wait to drive it!" Eva smiled happily. Stan and Koji thanked the Scrub mechanics for all their hard work.
"Don Wei," Jordan gasped lightly, watching the man step down the stairs. "Well sir, what's the verdict?"
"Its lovely," Don muttered, barely glancing at it.
"The least you could do is actually look at it," Eva huffed.
"I have the name of our next adversary," Don announced, holding up a scroll. "We'll be racing against Colonel Toros."
"But, he's never lost a race!" Jordan protested.
"And he beat the shit out of us last time," Eva sighed, hugging herself.
"Listen, this team has really improved since the last time we faced Toros," Don informed them. "Now, run the final tests and get ready! We'll be called at any moment!"
"Yes sir!" Stan and Koji nodded, running off. Eva and Jordan walked to the Arrow III and climbed into their positions.
"Now remember, in order to get to Oban we must beat Colonel Toros and rank amongst the Top 3!" Don reminded them. Eva closed the glass for the cockpit and narrowed her eyes.
"No one stands between me and the Ultimate Prize…not even a Crog. Toros…you're going down," Eva thought with a small growl.
"We now call forth the Earth Team!" The judges announced.
"How does she feel?" Koji asked.
"The steering feels a bit stiff, but I'll get used to it," Eva assured him.
"Challenged by Toros, Colonel of the Crog Imperial!" The judges continued. The Trident made its way to the pedestal
The crowd watched anxiously, everyone was nervous about the outcome of the race. Rush sat down, pushing a few aliens back. "This is much better than being in the hospital!" He laughed happily.
Aikka stared intensely at both the ships and secretly cross his fingers. "Come on Eva…you can do this! Beat Toros and we'll both go to Oban!"
"Prince, remember who you must cheer for," Canaan ordered him.
"R-Right," Aikka nodded sadly. "Just because I have to say his name out loud does not mean I want him to win. Come on Eva."
"Go Molly!" Rush cheered.
The final gate dropped down and the two racers sped off. Eva quickly took the lead, while Toros lagged behind. On the first turn the Arrow III ran into the wall, skidding against it. During that brief moment, Toros took the lead.
"Molly! What's wrong?" Don asked.
"It's a new star-racer!" Molly replied. "Like I said, the steering is a bit stiff. Just give me a damn moment to get the hang of it!" She gripped her hands on the handles and sped through the turns, catching up to Toros. "Let's see what she's got," Eva smirked, quickly giving the racer an edge, in an attempt to pass Toros. The Trident slammed into Eva, ramming her against the wall. After a few moments he let go, forcing the Arrow III back.
"Out my way, ya dirty Crog!" Jordan growled, moving the turret. He began shooting at Toros, but the large alien managed to dodge the lasers. Eva gave the Arrow III and edge and Jordan continued to shoot at him. Toros was forced to pull back, allowing Team Earth the lead.
"Give it to 'im Jordan!" Rush cheered, "He deserves it!"
"Go Eva! You can do it!" Aikka cheered in his mind. Canaan glanced at the prince before turning his attention back to the screen.
Eva and Jordan entered the water path and looked around. "I'm feeling a bit of Déjà vu back here," Jordan confessed. "We need some speed Molly!" Jordan shouted upon seeing the Trident. He positioned his guns and began shooting at Toros, but the ones that hit bounced off of his ship. The blades of the Crog ship grew yellow and the ship sped up. "Molly!" Jordan shouted. Eva looked back, watching the ship. Her mind flashed back to the last race with Toros and her eyes narrowed. Just before Toros was about to hit her, her eyes widened.
"Now!" She screamed in her head. She turned the Arrow III, corkscrewing above Toros. She managed to avoid being cut in half, and continued to fly. "Fool me once, shame on you! Fool me twice, and you're going down!" Eva smirked. "Sorry Stan, Koji, but she got a little scratch."
"Are you kidding? That was amazing!" Koji cheered.
"Stan, the hyper drive, is it fixed yet?" Eva asked.
"Roger that! Same commands as before," Stan nodded.
"Well that's just common courtesy," Eva smirked, pressing the buttons. The hull of the Arrow III opened up, showing off the hidden boosters. Eva pressed one final button and activated them. The racer shot off at a speed that Eva didn't think was possible. "What's my fuel level?" Eva asked.
"You're still okay," Stan told her, "for a bit longer. We've increased the tank capacity, so you've got more fuel to burn."
"Right," Eva nodded. She looked forward, and saw Toros's ship coming up. "I've almost caught up…there's no way you can beat me now-What!?" Eva's eyes widened in shock as the Trident increased in speed. "How in the world did that happen?" She muttered. She quickly growled and tightened her grip. "Koji, is there any way to make this baby go faster?" Eva asked. She waited a few moments before huffing and speaking again. "HELLO! Toros is getting away! Can I go faster or not?" Eva shouted.
"The hull could burst under the pressure, it just isn't safe yet," Stan protested. Eva didn't hear anything after that except for a small grumble from Stan, "I do this under protest."
"Booster drives enabled," Koji announced.
"Huh?" Eva gasped, seeing a part of the reactor slide out, revealing two sets of five hidden boosters. The Arrow III sped off with an incredible amount of speed, that Eva felt her body being pushed back. She held onto the rocket seat as hard as she could in order to avoid being thrown off. The star-racer passed the Trident, pushing it off course for a moment.
"YES!" The crowd cheered, going wild. Aikka gasped in excitement, leaning forward. He felt an intense stare on him and glanced back at Canaan. The alien prince sat back, a frown on his face. While he wore that small mask he was mentally cheering at the top of his lungs for Eva.
Eva noticed a series of turns coming up, so she deactivated the hyper drive, slowing down so she could make the turns without crashing through a building. Toros began shooting at her, not caring if he hit a Scrub home or not. They entered a tunnel and Eva tried her best to avoid the shots in the tight space. One of the bullets hit Jordan's turret. The military boy quickly got out the fire extinguisher and put out the smoke. They entered the rocky gorge and Toros shot past them. Once he made the turn and entered the beach he sped up.
"Here goes nothing," Eva growled, activating the hyper drive once more. Eva quickly caught up to Toros and tried to pass him.
"You're gonna crash into the temple walls," Stan warned her," you must top now, Molly."
"I am not stopping," Eva growled. "I know Maya wouldn't have," she muttered under her breath.
"Molly, its Rick! Stop the booster drives, its too risky!" Rick shouted at her.
The spectators looked out at the gate, filled with feelings of nervousness and anxiousness.
"Come on Eva," Aikka gasped, watching Eva fly next to Toros, the two of them neck-in-neck.A part of him was cheering Eva on, telling her to go faster and win, but another part was shouting at her to stop driving before she killed herself.
"Molly, do it!" Rick ordered. Eva went to press the button but froze, tightening her hand into a fist.
"I can't stop yet," she growled.
"No Molly!" Rick shouted. As they neared the finish line, Toros stopped his hyper drive and Molly sped past him. Just before she entered the stadium she stopped the hyper drives and quickly popped up the hull of the star racer, slowing it down. She turned it, avoiding the temple wall and hovering to a stop. Toros sped past her and the blades of his ship sunk into the concrete wall. Eva made the wheels pop out and she stopped the Arrow III bringing up a cloud of dust. The crowd became silent as the gong sounded, waiting for the dust to clear. When it was gone and they saw the Earth star-racer perfectly fine, the crowd let out huge cheers of joy. Eva opened the glass to the cock-pit and stared at the crowd in amazement. She placed a hand over her heart and breathed a sigh of relief.
"The winner is the Earth Team!" The judges announced.
"Alright!" Rush shouted, hugging two random aliens.
"Good job, Molly," Aikka breathed a sigh of relief.
"Prince Aikka," Canaan warned.
"I am allowed to offer at least one 'congratulations' to the winner," Aikka replied, smiling at the Earth girl. He stood up and stared at her for a moment more before nodding and walking away. "Thank you Eva. I'll see you on Oban."
Jordan climbed through the hatch that lead to the cockpit and smiled at everyone.
"Toros has five victories and is, therefore, qualified for Oban!" The judges shouted, calling the fans to silence.
"The Earth Team has three victories and must, therefore, wait for the next race between prince Aikka and Spirit," another judge informed them. Aikka froze and looked back at the judges in shock.
"But the humans just beat the best racer!" Rush protested. Several aliens agreed with him and 'booed' the judges.
"If prince Aikka wins, Earth will qualify for Oban. A victory for Spirit would create a tie in his favor and disqualify the Earth team from Oban!" the judges shouted.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Jordan shouted in protest.
"Oh man…" Eva groaned, "Please, Aikka…win!"
The alien in question turned to look at Toros and his racer. The giant Crog made eye contact with the prince and narrowed his golden eyes. Aikka was sure that if a Crog's mouth was shown, Toros would be smirking. "Oh no…"
"You know that prince Aikka will probably loose on purpose, right?" Jordan huffed as they sat down to watch the race. "It's just so the Crogs can win. Everybody knows that the Nourasians are in the Crogs' pocket."
"Please don't start with that again, Jordan," Eva huffed, rubbing her head.
"Believe in prince charming all you want, but I saw them together," Jordan argued.
"Like I said, Aikka's business is his business," Eva sighed.
"We now welcome Aikka, prince of Nourasia!" The judges shouted. G'dar crawled out of the entryway and the spectators cheered for him. Aikka looked up and caught Eva's eye. Eva smiled and waved to him, secretly blowing him a kiss. Aikka stared at her for a moment longer before looking away, his eyes closed and his mouth in a frown.
"Please, Eva! Don't look at me like that…it only makes this harder," Aikka frowned, thinking back to what Canaan had ordered him. "Just know that I truly do love you…I'm sorry."
"Huh?" Eva gasped in shock. "Why would he ignore me like that…?"
"Challenged by Spirit; Ambassador of the Fills!" the judges announced. Eva watched Spirit walk out onto the pedestal and took a deep breath, praying for Aikka to win.
On the other side of the Stadium, Toros wrapped his arm around Canaan's neck, glaring at him. "I hope you have made things clear for your young master," he growled.
"I have, prince Aikka will…do as you requested," Canaan nodded.
"Good," Toros nodded "Earth needs to be taught a lesson."
Eva and Jordan watched the screen as the two racers sped off. Aikka trailed behind Spirit, getting farther and farther behind.
"Look at that, he's not even trying. I fucking knew it," Jordan hissed. "The honest prince isn't even pretending to race."
"That's not possible," Eva protested. "Nourasian knights have honor! He won't let me down."
"Believe all you want, but this race is fixed, in Spirit's favor," Jordan huffed, turning back to the screen.
G'dar screeched and tried to speed up but Aikka reigned him in. "G'dar! Calm down! This is not our day for victory," he sighed. G'dar let out a screech of protest. "I know how you feel. We are betraying our friends, Eva, and most importantly, ourselves," Aikka sighed. "But this will not continue! This race ends here!" He declared, placing a hand on G'dar's shell. "Um sekai G'dar wakar." G'dar gladly sped up, flying next to Spirit.
"I told you!" Eva gasped, standing up in excitement. "Go Aikka!"
"What is this treachery," Toros growled.
"I-I don't know," Canaan breathed, watching Aikka in confusion.
Spirit flew back and forth, preventing Aikka from passing him.
"You fight well Spirit, but today I must win," Aikka stood up and grabbed an arrow, aiming it at Spirit. "For myself, my people…and for Eva," he breathed, "Um sekai nurama sefar!" A blue light surrounded the tip of his arrow. He released the arrow and it flew in front of Spirit, bursting into a bright light. The shape-shifting alien screeched slightly and slammed into a wall, tumbling onto the ground before he rolled to a stop, unconscious and defeated.
"Prince Aikka wins!" the judges announced.
"I knew it! I told you Jordan! Aikka didn't let me down!" Eva cheered, jumping up and down. G'dar flew into the stadium and Aikka bowed to them. The judges each held up a tentacle like hand, silencing the crowd.
"The teams selected for the Grand Finale on Oban are, the Crogs with five victories! The Nourasians with four victories! And the Earth Team with three victories!"
"We're going to Oban!" Eva cheered.
Aikka sighed in relief but frowned when he realized what exactly he had done. "Eva…I'm sorry for everything," he muttered in his head.
"Crossing the Crogs was a most deadly mistake," Toros growled. "This day will not be forgotten." Toros turned away from Canaan and began walking off.
"Colonel, wait!" Canaan protested, running after him.
"You know, this guy's okay," Jordan smirked. "And who knows, I may start to hate him a little less." Stan and Koji cheered together.
"Glad you're finally seeing him in the way he deserves," Eva smirked, nodding her head. Her cheeks became pink as she thought of how she would congratulate Aikka, as well as thank him. Rick watched her and smiled, nodding in approval.
"Rick, I haven't felt this great in years," Don smiled. "Not since you won your first Grand Prix back on Earth, remember?"
"Yeah," Rick nodded softly.
"You've certainly changed that girl, I couldn't have done it," Don smiled, walking away. Rick smiled and stood up, remembering all his past victories, a smile of content washed over his face.
"I guess its time…"
Eva decided to stop by and thank Rick before she went to see Aikka, but she was surprised when his room was empty. "What's this?" she muttered, picking up a stone with a strange symbol on it. She ran out of the hangar and up to Stan and Koji. "Have you guys seen Rick? I can't find him anywhere."
"Yeah, I think he walked out about half an hour ago," Koji nodded.
"He had his backpack with him," Stan added.
"Thanks," Eva sighed, running off. On the way she passed Aikka and smiled. "Aikka, thank you, and congratulations," she told him as she ran past him.
"That's it?" Aikka asked in shock. Eva rolled her eyes and quickly ran back over to him, kissing him.
"I gotta stop my coach from leaving!" Eva told him, running off again.
"Good luck!" Aikka shouted after her, watching her go. "And I mean in Oban…not with your coach."
Eva approached the large crowds surrounding the egg shaped pods. "Rick! Rick where are you?" She shouted, looking around.
"Great race, Molly!" Satis smiled, walking up to her. "You've changed so much that I can hardly recognize you," he complimented, stroking his beard.
"I'm looking for Rick, have you seen him?" Eva asked.
"Yes I have, he's heading back to Earth," Satis nodded.
"To Earth?"
"Yep, he's right over there," Satis nodded, pointing to the man. Rick was on a ramp that entered one of the pods.
"Rick!" Eva gasped, running up to him. "Rick! Where are you going? We're on our way to Oban! You can't leave now!" Eva protested.
"I taught you everything I know little mouse, racing's over for me," Rick shrugged.
"But Rick…" Eva muttered.
"Ship's ready to take off!" a scrub announced.
"Its time for me to think about my new life," Rick smiled, ruffling her hair "You'll do just fine without me." As he walked away Eva grabbed his bag.
"No!" She shouted. "You're like my big brother, you can't leave me!"
"Molly, I have to," Rick sighed.
"Eva! My name is Eva!" she told him firmly "And you can't leave. You're the only person on the Earth team that knows my secret. And…out of everyone, I'm closer to you."
"Yes, but you're closet with the prince," Rick smiled.
"Yeah but…even I'm beginning to have my doubts," Eva muttered sadly. "He almost lost on purpose today."
"Don't' worry little mouse, you'll do fine, everything will work out," Rick smiled, ruffling her hair once more.
"I'm still not letting you go," Eva pouted.
"If I go to Oban, you have to promise me something," Rick sighed, crouching in front of her, so he could look her in the eye.
"What?" Eva asked.
"I get to intimidate your boyfriend, and if he hurts you, I can hurt him," Rick smirked. Eva hesitated before nodding.
"Are you coming?" the scrub asked.
"Nah, sorry," Rick smiled, placing a hand on Eva's back and leading her off.
"Thank you, Rick!" Eva smiled, wrapping her arms around his waist.
"No problem, Eva," Rick smiled. They turned around and were both shocked to find Don.
"I thought you were leaving," Don muttered in slight shock.
"What can I say," Rick sighed, placing a hand on Eva's head. "I'm a sucker for a cute face." Eva giggled and hugged him once more.
"Well, we must get going, our ship will arrive soon," Don nodded.
"I'm ready for Oban!" Eva cheered.
