Disclaimer: I do not own Oban Star-Racers or any of the canon characters. Bethany is mine.

For Eva, it was like stepping back in time. The platforms were busy with activity, but instead of Scrubs running around, this time there were Gawains. They looked like walking raindrops and were tall. Really tall. They moved very slow but were extremely elegant. She'd only been there a few minutes but already she felt herself easing back into the swing of things, but this time with a few differences.

The trucks had somehow managed to get dinged on the trip, but were still running. Maneuvering through the crowds was difficult, what with Gawains having difficulty with speed. The buildings were made of what looked like glass and they sparkled in what Eva could only guess was the morning sun. If it was even a sun. She watched the people moving about in the buildings, only hoping that any 'private' rooms were made of something a bit less…transparent.

"A penny for your thoughts?" She turned to find Rick standing next to her, smiling. She smiled back and turned around, letting the breeze caress her face.

"Just admiring the scenery. You?" He leaned forward and put his arm on the sill. The breeze moved his hair, revealing more of his face. There was a small scar down the side of his cheek, just below his right ear. That's new, she thought.

"Planning ahead. Gotta make sure you're safe, not to mention fast on the track. Can't risk losing ya, little mouse," he said. The hair ruffling hadn't subsided even in the year since the Great Race. Eva reached up to smooth it back down when a movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. She watched Bethany jog through the crowd, her ponytail flapping in the wind.

"What do you think?"

"Of what?" He cocked an eyebrow at her question.

"Bethany. Your feathers seem to get ruffled almost every time you're around her." The other eyebrow met the first. "I've been listening to my dad too much, sorry." He chuckled before turning his attention back out the window.

"She's not telling us something. I'm not sure what it is, but it just feels like she's not quite told us the whole truth. Anyways," he said, ruffling her hair some more, "you need to be focused on the race. Don't let my little irritation with B get you worried." Now it was her turn to lift an eyebrow.

"B?"

"It's easier than calling her Bethany all the time." Someone called him and he eased up, stretching. "Let me know if you need anything, little mouse."

"Thanks Rick." He saluted her and went to talk with Don. Eva closed her eyes, letting the fresh air and warm weather help her drift off to sleep.

"Hey. Hey, Eva." She woke to someone shaking her. Still groggy, it was hard opening her eyes, but she managed, only to find Stan and Koji looking down at her.

"Yeah?" she mumbled, stretching.

"We're here." Stan smiled as Koji pushed the glasses back up his nose. Same old, same old.

"How long was I asleep?" she asked and looked out the window. As far as she could tell, it looked like they'd reached the stations where all the pilots were staying. The garages were piled one-on-top-of-the-other, six high in one long building. It too was made in the transparent material as the other buildings, but here there were lots of different kinds of aliens, though the Gawains were plentiful. Perhaps she would see one or two of her old friends from the race of Oban.

The truck cruised about a third of the way down before stopping on a hover platform. Two raindrops began humming and the platform lifted. It stopped at the fourth tier, where they then began unloading. Stan, Koji, Rick and Eva all worked to move the star racers from the truck as quickly as possible, with Don directing everyone to make sure they were organized and ready to go. It was hard, sweaty work, but Eva didn't mind too much.

They were waving and thanking the Gawains when Bethany came in. "Where did you come from?" Eva asked, surprised. Bethany looked up, startled.

"The back door," she said, pointing to a door at the back of the garage. Eva felt her face heat as she heard Stan and Koji snickering behind her. She hadn't even realized the woman hadn't been with them until just that moment. Luckily for her, Bethany just smiled before turning back to her papers.

"I got us registered and we're pretty much good to go, save for reading the rules," she told them. Pulling out an envelope, she broke the seal and pulled out a piece of paper.

"Why didn't you open those before?" Stan asked.

"They told me not to until I had everyone in the same room. Lady and gentlemen, the rules are… 'There are no rules.'" She turned the paper over, then back again. "I'm not impressed."

"What do you mean there are no rules?" Don demanded.

"Just what it says. Apparently, there are no rules to this race," she told him, handing over the paper. He turned it over just like she had.

"There must be some rules. Even the Great Race of Oban wouldn't allow for the killing of the other racers."

"It's not on that paper, and the officiate that gave me those told me they were the official rules, or lack thereof apparently."

"We can't race then. Go back and tell them-"

"No." All eyes turned to Eva.

"What? What do you mean 'no'? Eva, we must pull out of this race, otherwise-"

"Otherwise the Earth will still be in danger. It's got to be in danger, because we otherwise wouldn't be here. Dad, I know this doesn't look good, but we can still do this. It's just going to be a little…tougher this time around. Bethany, was there anything else?"

"No, that was it." Eva turned and walked up the stairs to the bunks. "I'm going to get washed and dressed. I have a feeling we don't have much time before the first race."

"Eva, think about what you're doing. We don't even have a gunner and it's too late now-"

"We need to do this, gunner or not. Dad, trust me. We can do this." She smiled down at her teammates before continuing up the stairs. Behind her, she heard her dad sigh, then switch to manager mode and start his tirade. Before long, the garage was filled with the usual hammers, drills and shouting.

This is something we have to do.

Author's Note: Hey, it's been a while since I updated. Sorry about that. I just kind of lost my way with the OSR fandom for a while there. Not to mention that I never got to see the last three episodes of the series and Jetix has yet to run them.

Lot of love to my main reviewer, Star Fata, who is ever so faithful and I appreciate ever so much. I also appreciate Sekai Nerah, Crystal Persian, and airgirl555 for also reviewing. And no, I'm not going to reveal anything. You'll just have to wait. MUWAHAHAHAHA!!