Chapter 2: Return to Earth

*Disclaimer: I do not own Oban Star Racers*

In the past five years, a lot had changed. Eva had graduated from high school and started to officially race on her father's race team for the next two years. Don Wei didn't totally approve of her racing, but he knew that he couldn't hold back her ambitious ways and her love for the race track. She was just like her mother, always wanting to do more than her best and pushing herself. Everytime his daughter raced, he secretly prayed for her safety and that nothing would take her away from him again. It seemed that his hair had grayed even more than usual during those two years of Eva's racing career, leaving only a few strands of raven black hair on his scalp. He made sure to attend every race she participated so he could be sure he could be there to help if anything went wrong.

Eva loved the thrill of the race. Ever since she came back from Oban, she had turned into one of the best star racers on Earth. She first started in small races while she was in high school and then went on to the big leagues once she graduated and convinced her father that she could handle it. She couldn't resist the thrill that pumped through her veins everytime the engine of her star racer revved up. She enjoyed racing up from behind her opponents and catching them off guard and then sprint down to the finish line. It seemed as if no one could touch her and she easily lived up to her mother's reputation of being the best of the best. Everytime she entered a race, her thoughts would return to her adventure on Oban. Speeding down the pavement-covered race track was nothing compared to weaving through the untouched environment of Oban. She missed her great adventure and would never forget the friends she made and the feelings that bloomed while on the Mother Planet. She always secretly wanted to return to Oban, to see her friends and to reveille in the feeling of racing for something worthwhile. But now she was back on Earth and went on with everyday life. But she would never forget her time on Oban.

The day was beautifully clear. The blue skies radiated with sunshine as Eva prepared for her race that day. It wasn't a very important race, just a quick, kind of practice race to keep her fresh. The racing season just recently ended and she wanted to do this race for fun. Even though it wasn't an important race, the stands were stuffed with people. Nobody ever wanted to miss a race where the famous Eva Wei raced in, even if it was a short little sprint race. Eva was in her hanger, preparing to board her star racer. Her father was there, looking on with pride and worry as he always did.

"Now Eva, don't go crazy over this race. It's not crucial that you win it so don't take any risks. Do you hear me young lady?" he said with a bit of sarcasm. "Don't worry Dad. I'm not going to do anything stupid," she shouted back as she positioned herself in her vehicle. "But I'm not going to lose either!" she retorted with a big thumbs up. Her father smiled with confidence and walked out of the hanger to go find his seat in the stands.

Eva slowly made her way over to the starting line. Her star racer gleamed as the sun hit its panels decorated with artistic auburn stripes that eventually dimmed as they moved toward the pilot's cockpit. There was a royal purple crescent moon adorning one of the wings with a dim yellow star that rested within the moon. Eva stopped in front of the line on the ground and turned to inspect her opponent. The racer wasn't much, a simple star racer with barely any kind of effort to design it in. This was going to be an easy race.

The announcer's voice rang throughout the stands as he began the introductions. "Welcome racing fans alike to the Rat Alley Raceway!" the announcer exclaimed as the crowd cheered uncontrollably. "It will prove to be an exciting day in racing. Today Alfred Lamport from France shall be racing our hero and champion, Eva Wei!!!" Eva revealed herself from under her pilot window to receive her applause and to get the fans even more fired up. Their shrieks of delight pumped her up even more and she could feel her confidence rise with every wave of cheers. She gleamed with pride. She wore a similar type of racing outfit as she did back on Alwas and Oban. Yellow pads covered her shoulders while she wore an army green, button-up, long sleeve shirt with a raised collar, sleeves wrapped up to her elbows. She still wore the same kind of khaki capri's but exchanged her sneakers for brown flats. Her hair remained the same as it did five years ago, nearly down to her shoulders and topped with red hair as if she were drizzled with strawberry syrup. And of course she still wore her mother's beloved goggles on top of her head, her most prized possession. Then the announcer went on, "And today, we have a special guest to watch this exciting race. I am proud to introduce Prince Aikka, prince of our ally planet Nourasia. We all hope that he enjoys this exhilarating race."

As soon as this news reached Eva's ears, she twirled around to face the Guest Balcony, nearly making her twirl out of her racer. There standing and waving to the crowds was the young prince. Okay so he wasn't as young as when she last saw him, but he still looked youthful and he was actually there, on Earth, at the race track! He still wore a uniform similar to his prince garments. His outfit was all white with armor fringed with gold wiring. He looked much like he did five years ago. He still wore the crown of Nourasia upon his temple but now his hair was much longer. It fall down to his shoulder and looked silky as it waved in the wind. Eva wanted to immediately jump out her racer, sprint up to him and give him a big hug. But she had to hold herself back, knowing she had to go on with the race. She hadn't seen her friend in such a long time, but another few minutes wouldn't hurt. Eva kept staring at him, amazed that he had come back and was going to see her race. Suddenly he turned her way and stared at her. He gazed at her with his gentle eyes that were as blue and radiant as the day's sky. He gave her a quick little smile and waved to her. Eva returned the gesture and gave a timid wave back, making sure only he got the message. Suddenly she felt her face start to burn with blush, practically turning into a red-ripe apple and quickly sat down in her star racer hiding her embarrassment behind her tinted windows. She eventually calmed herself down and settled into her seat. Now she had even more incentive to finish this race as soon as she could.

The referee began the race. "On your mark," Eva revved her engine. "Get set," the star racer lifted off its wheels and floated nimbly in the air. "GO!" The two star racers bolted out of the starting gate.

*******

All eyes were locked onto the last corner of the raceway as the star racers sped through the tight hairpin turn. The stands stood in anticipation as the vehicles came into view. The star racers were neck-in-neck, each one slowly inching in front of the other. Suddenly, in burst of energy, Eva's star racer roared into the lead and left the other racer to disappear in a cloud of dust. Eva crossed the finish line with ease, the other star racer lagging behind in defeat. Then she opened her cockpit and stood triumphant in front of the frenzying crowd. Aikka stood up and gave her a controlled applause, suppressing his joy and keeping his demeanor. She turned her attention to him and gave him a little wink, causing him to smile and blush a bit.

Eva returned to her hanger and helped the mechanics with covering her star racer. Her father was there as well, waiting for Eva to finish up. Just as they were about to leave, Aikka strolled into the hanger, "Congratulations on the victory today Eva." "Aikka!" exclaimed Eva. "It's nice to see you again Prince Aikka," said Don. "What brings you to Earth and more specifically, here to the raceway?" asked Don in a suspicious way. "Dad, don't ask him like that." Eva proclaimed as she headed down the ladder of her star racer and towards the entrance where Aikka stood.

"Sorry about my dad, he's a little overprotective." Eva said very apologetically. "It's quite alright," Aikka responded in his comforting voice, causing Eva's face to turn into a hue of pink. "Anyways, why are you here Aikka? Do you have some business to do here on Earth for your father?"

"Oh no, I'm not here for any diplomatic reason," he said in his calm tone. "So your just here for fun?" questioned Eva. "Well that doesn't seem very princely of you. I would think you would be swamped with all kinds of official royal business and wouldn't have any time for relaxing."

"Well…" He said in an uncertain voice. "I do indeed have some royal business I need to have done. You see, my 21st birthday will be in about two months and I will be receiving my throne and I shall be wed as well," purposefully leaving out the part that he doesn't have a fiancée yet. "But lately I've been preoccupied and haven't been able to focus on my duties as well as I should. And I've sort of been thinking about you for a while." At that remark they both began to blush as Aikka continued. "I've felt ashamed that I still haven't fulfilled my promise to you to show you my kingdom. So…"

"Yes?" Eva said, a bit of optimism in her voice. "Well, I'd like to invite you to come with me to Nourasia and see my kingdom," Aikka explained with a bit of nerves ringing in his voice.

Don, who had been watching the show of teenage hormones swirl among the two youngsters, gained a stern, concerned face and raised his eyebrow. He could see what was going on between them and he wasn't sure about the idea of his daughter going off on another adventure off into space. And what really concerned him was that he was sure that he would not be able to come with her and watch over his daughter. He gave a dramatized cough to snap them out of each other's gaze and asked, "And how long would this trip take exactly, that is if I let you go."

Eva threw him a glare and pouted her lips in an unheard message, 'stay out of it dad.' "Well Mr. Wei," Aikka explained in his confident voice once again, "it would be for about two months. That will be when my birthday is and I would love to have Eva join me on my special day."

Don closed his eyes and cupped his chin in his hand, deep in thought, "Well I don't know." He kept on pondering and slit his eye to take a quick glance at his daughter. She looked at her father with warm, hopeful eyes pleading him to say yes. Eva's father loved his daughter and knew this would make her happy, to spend time with an old friend. He just could never say no to anything she really wanted to do, just like he couldn't say no to her mother. He gave a heavy sigh, knowing he would not win this war with his daughter and a small smile crept onto his face. "Well, since the racing season is over and there won't be much for you to do, I guess it's alright if you go to Nourasia for awhile. As long as you stay out of trouble and behave yourself."

Eva's eyes lit up and she tackled her father, squeezing him with all her might. "Oh dad, thank you so much! I promise to be good!" Don Wei returned the gesture by wrapping his arms around here and reveling in her warm embrace. Aikka observed the moment of family love with admiration and knew how close they were. Eva finally released her dad and turned to Aikka, still brimming with excitement. "So Aikka, when do we leave?"

"Tomorrow morning." A shocked expression erased Eva's excited gaze and Don's concerned stare returned. "But that's such short notice Aikka!" Eva exclaimed. "Well then I guess you had better start packing for the trip. The first shuttle that departs for Nourasia leaves at 6:45. I will be waiting for you at the gate. Until tomorrow Eva," Aikka explained as he bowed and left them in the hanger.

"Well now what?" Eva asked, still in a daze, not believing that she was leaving for Nourasia tomorrow and at such an early time. "Didn't you hear Eva?" asked Don in an annoyed voice. Eva glanced up at her father with concern. Perhaps he changed his mind. "You need to start packing. You don't want to miss your flight," he said in a cheerful tone and passed her a smile. Eva then regained her excitement and they both headed out of the hanger, making their way home, hand-in-hand. "Of course that means you have to go to bed early tonight," stated her father. Eva responded with an 'oh man.'

*******

The clouds weakened the power of the sun early that morning at the Galactic Space Shuttle Port. Cold winds pierced the skin causing shivers to tickle throughout the body. The morning was gray and dim but nothing could diminish the joy of one young woman even if she was still half-asleep. Eva and her father arrived at the port and where greeted by Aikka and another Nourasian that seemed to be his servant.

Don turned to his daughter, realizing how much she had grown up from being Molly the stow-away to Eva the great star racer. His eyes started to swell with tears of pride but he quickly pushed them back as he began to speak. "Now Eva, I trust that you will be good and look after yourself, okay?"

Eva noticed the concern in his voice and tried to comfort him. "Dad, I'm 20 years old, I think I can take care of myself. Don't worry about me." "I know," Don said with a knot in his throat. "I'm just going to miss you. You're all I have left in this universe. I don't want anything to happen to you. I love you."

Eva suddenly felt hot tears fill your eyes and she quickly whipped them away. She opened her arms and the two embraced each other, taking comfort in each other's warmth. Eva finally replied, "I love you too dad."

Aikka headed towards the two and offered his hand to Eva. "Shall we head off my lady?" Eva finally left her father's arms and Don gave her a kiss on her forehead. Eva took Aikka's hand as the servant silently took all of her luggage. They headed towards the space shuttle and Eva quickly turned to address her father. "And don't worry dad," she began to say with a confident voice. "It'll only be for two months."

As they traveled up the boarding dock Aikka gestured with his hand for Eva to go first, "After you princess." His comment reminded Eva of the good old days when everyone called her the Earth princess. It made her feel floaty that he called her by a name that no one else knew.

As the hatch closed, Don Wei's smile slowly disappeared as he remembered what his daughter had last told him. 'And don't worry dad. It'll be just for two months.' For some reason, he felt as if that wasn't true and he wondered what would happen on Nourasia.

Back on the shuttle, Aikaa sat next to Eva and held onto her hand with comfort. She had never been on shuttle like this and she was a bit nervous. Aikka leaned next her and said "Don't worry, it will be fine. Soon we will be in Nourasia." She began to blush but thankfully it was disguised by the darkness of the cabin. "I know. I can't wait." Then the boosters roared and the shuttle began to quake. They were now on their way to Nourasia.

*****

AN: Sorry if this took too long to post, but college work sucks and takes up too much time. Anyway, this is a really long chapter because I wanted to get out of Earth ASAP. I promise that's there's lots more to come, just be patient with me because I have limited time in my day and this is my first so it is a bit hard. Oh and to those who reviewed thank you so much and I promise to see this through to the end. I just hate fanfics that don't have an ending. See ya next time.