*3rd POV*

Don Wei is sitting in his room on the floor, with his back against the wall. His eyes are closed. He thinks if whatever Adam told him is true.

Maya: "As long as we can fly we still have a chance. I refuse to believe it's the end of the world"

Little Eva: "Mommy is really the best! Nothing could ever happen to her. Yes! I can see her! She's winning! She is winning!"

Adam: "Molly is Eva. She's been here the whole time"

Molly: "As long as we can fly we still have a chance. I refuse to believe it's the end of the world"

Adam: "She turned out just like Maya, right Don?"

Don opens his eyes and sighs. He looks at a box sitting on top of his bed. Then a sudden blow of wind catches his attention. He exits his quarter and shivers with cold, as a snowstorm occurs in their current location. Stan and Koji run from their room towards stairs

Don: "How could it be snowing?!"

Koji: "I have no idea! The temperatures suddenly plummeted!"

Stan: "Come on Koji! We need to cover the Wheezing Arrow III!" Meanwhile, Adam and Eva exit their room, cuddled to each other to keep their warmth. They notice Don staring at them

Eva: "Huh?"

Adam: "Cold climate for his cold heart" Koji and Stan runs next to them "Guys! Do you need any help?!"

Stan: "We're fine. Go get some sleep. You two need to rest especially with injury Adam"

Koji: "You'll find heaters in the storage arena" Eva nods and the duo run to get the heaters. Jordan groggily wakes up and run after them

*Adam POV*

We get the heater. And given there were not enough of them, we get Jordan to our room. Eva finishes putting blanket on those holes in the walls while me and Jordan try to start the heater up

Eva: "Great. A snowstorm. Hasn't been last in the ranking bad enough?" She gets up and sits on my bed. Jordan is trying to connect the fuel lines while I screw the bolt of heat adjustment "Adam, hurry. I can't feel my fingers"

Adam: "We're trying the best we could"

Jordan: "These things are just a pain to light up. To think in the end of the 21st century things would be easier!"

Adam: "Try now" Jordan presses the button on top and the heater lights up

Jordan: "Oh yes!" I sit down next to Eva who get her hand to the heat source

Eva: "Man, I can't believe it's so cold. It's freezing in here" she looks at me "Make some space" she gets under my blanket and I get my arm around her

Adam: "Huh?"

Eva: "I'm cold, you're warm. You don't want me to freeze to death, do you?"

Adam: "Nope. So, we've nothing to do now. How about we play something? I have cards"

Jordan: "Sweet. Do any of you know how to play?"

Eva: "Macau, poker, blackjack, war, twenty-one, you name it Jordan"

Jordan: "Okay, how about macau?" Us two nod and I toss the cards. We start our game

*3rd POV*

Meanwhile when teams get some bonding time, Don gets behind his desk and opens up the communication device

Don: "I want to contact Earth. When is the next available window for transmision?"

Computer: "Communication links are currently open"

Don: "Very well. Please contact... the Stern Boarding School" The device scans Don and soon a hologram of the Principal from Stern shows up

Principal: "Do you know what time it is? Boarders cannot receive calls at this hour!"

Don: "I'm sorry but I'm calling... long distance"

Principal: "They all say that. Who is it that you wanna talk to? The students are all asleep"

Don: "I would like to speak to... Miss Eva Wei"

Principal: "Eva? Hahaha! What did she do? Steal from your shop? Leave her hotel room without paying for it? Or maybe exploded something with Adam Ortin?"

Don: "W-why, no. I just need to speak to her. It's been a long time. I'm Eva's father, Mr. Wei" Principal gasps

Principal: "Mr. Wei! Don't worry, we'll find your sweet Eva. I'm sure she's fine. And about those payments, I assure you, we were going to return them as soon as possible-"

Don: "What're you talking about?" Principal gasps again

Principal: "You mean you haven't heard? On her birthday... she was up all night waiting for your call. By morning she and Adam just run off the school. I'm already informed Mrs. Goldfinch about Adam" the connection turn to static and gets lost

Don: "Eva... Adam was saying the truth..." He then opens up a connection again, seeing some signal, low but still acceptable to make a call

Computer: "Who do you want to contact, sir?"

Don: "Please call... Ophelia Goldfinch of Earth" Soon a hologram of Ophelia shows up

Ophelia: "What's it? *yawn* Do you know what time we have-" she rubs her eye "Don? With what I deserve a call for the first time in ten years?"

Don: "Ophelia, please. It's important"

Ophelia: "Everything is important to you. Except for your own daughter" Don stiffens "Adam sent me letters. I know what you did to Eva"

Don: "I-"

Ophelia: "Bah, bah, bah. I don't wanna hear it. YOU make her escape the school. Principal from Stern called me. Her and Adam escaped the school on her fifteenth birthday. God only knows where they're now. You know how worried sick I was?! They are somewhere in the world, alone and without anyone to look after them! I already lost my sister, my brother in law and the only family I've left is Adam!"

Don: "That's... why I wanted to call you. Adam is with me"

Ophelia: "What?!"

Don: "I... gave him a job offer in my company two weeks before they disappear"

Ophelia: "..."

Don: "We're taking a part in... a very important championship far away from Dallas. I-"

Ophelia: "... I'm actually thinking about the ways I will make you suffer when you come back. Why didn't you call me sooner?!"

Don: "That-"

Ophelia: "And let it better be a serious reason. So why?"

Don: "*sigh* He showed up with Eva"

Ophelia: "Well, congratulations. You didn't come to her so she came to you. She is as stubborn as Maya. She changed a lot, didn't she?"

Don: "You... can say that's accurate..."

Ophelia: "Wait! Perhaps you didn't recognize her?"

Don: "..."

Ophelia: "Don Wei... you're an old, dense idiot. *sigh* Okay, I'll give you a piece of my mind when you come back. At least now I can sleep with ease knowing Adam is safe. So, what job did you give him? Is he eating properly? Did he say something about his girlfriend or anything?" Don growls

Don: "He-"

Ophelia: "Wait, I will guess. Him and Eva got together. Just like Maya and Anna wanted. When they were toddlers they were always together and Eva's first word was Adam's name. Remember?"

*Flashback*

Both Adam and Eva are sitting in a crib, doing usual toddler things while their parents sit nearby, observing them

Anna: "When I look at them I can't shake the feeling that those two won't part away"

Maya: "It's just so cute to see them together. And you wanted a playmate for Adam. Just look at Eva trying to act like him" Mothers look at the crib to see little Adam standing up kinda wobbly. Eva tries to stand up too and struggle with it, finally landing on her bottom. She gets some tears in her eyes, but Adam's giggle made her stop. She looked at him and started giggling too, much to both mothers heart melt

Anna and Maya: "Owww"

Hubert: "Haha. Why don't you two start planning their wedding if you think so?" he turns to Don "Heh, our kids are getting along pretty well, don't ya think, old fox?" Don smiled

Don: "You were right Hubert. Having a child is one of the best thing that could happen to a person"

Anna: "Just don't shake her. It's bad for the baby" She looked at the crib again, seeing Adam and Eva asleep next to each other "Oww~ Look at them. Seems like our little champ is out of energy. We should head back, tomorrow is a job day after all"

Hubert: "We should get to the pub one day, Don. Like in the old time"

Don: "If we get some free time, I don't see why not. We won't hold you two any longer. Remember, 9:00 AM tomorrow" he smiles "We have another championship to win"

Hubert: "You have the best mechanics in the world" he pointed to himself and his wife "The best pilot in the world" he pointed at Maya "As your loving wife. And you're the best manager in the world. That tin cup was ours long ago" He puts his coat while Anna puts Adam into the stroller "See you at work guys"

Maya: "Goodbye you two! Safe trip!"

Anna: "Remember Maya. Tomorrow in the mall at 11 AM sharp" Maya salutes and winks

Maya: "See you there Annie"

*Flashback ends*

Ophelia: "But Anna and Hubert had to move to the other side of the town, and the kids' friendship ended as fast as it started. Good to see their paths crossed again" she smiles "Well, anything else you want to talk with me?"

Don: "I-I need help with Eva. I... I don't know what to say or how to approach her"

Ophelia: "And you're asking a childless lady to help you with a child? *sigh* You're her father, Don, get a grip. Just tell her why you left. After that, maybe you and her get back to being a loving family? That's if you won't drop her to Stern on your way back" Don's heart stops for a moment "Don, you alive?"

Don: "I-I'm fine. *cough* Thank you Ophelia. I will keep Adam safe with us"

Ophelia: "He better be. Oh, and you can call me more often. We were all friends in high school after all. I will see you soon, Don"

Don: "Goodbye, Ophelia"

*timeskip, morning*

After their session of card playing, the three teens sleep on each other, with Adam being the main support. Jordan leans on his shoulder and Eva gets her head on Adam's lap. Eva opens up her eyes and looks at Adam before smiling

Eva: "Sleepyhead" she gets from Adam's lap and sits up "Better let those two sleep" she gets up, stretches and gets her warm clothes on before walking outside the room and to the top level of Earth Team's module. She looks around in awe at the mountains

*Adam POV*

I wake up hearing a snore. I rub my sleepy eyes and look to its source to see Jordan, snoring and drooling on me "Gross, gross, gross" I get him off me and lie him down. I then change into some warmer clothes and walk to the kitchen, where I get myself some coffee

Adam: "Knowing Eva, she is sightseeing" I smile "She will be my death..."

???: "I'm gonna win this race today!" I recognize Eva's voice as it echoes through mountains and smile a little more

Adam: "Yup. Death of me for sure

Eva: "Watch out! Cause today is my day to win, Prince Aikka!"

Adam: "And she taunted Aikka" I shook my head "Seems like mountains are good for her. Maybe I will get her to some when we get back on Earth?" I shrug and start making coffee for Eva. However, before I could, Avatar gives us a sign that the next race is starting. I grab my coffee and run to the control center, meeting Eva and half asleep Jordan half way "Good luck you two. I have a feeling today is the day" I give them a smile

Eva: "I feel it too. See ya later Adam!" she throws me her coat and gloves "Keep them for me!" They run down the stairs to Arrow III. I enter the control room, taking off my coat and hanging it over Eva's on my chair. Then I get my standard display, showing both stats for them and Arrow III. The hatch opens and the race starts.

'Wide terrain, nothing in the way. Eva got the points granted today' I smile and relax on my chair. Eva is in seventh position, right in front of Aikka and Ondai

Eva: "They're going straight ahead. Any sign of the stone gates?" Me, Stan and Koji get to work. Soon enough our radar found one single gate

Koji: "Yes. There is only one. It looks like a sprint Molly" Eva lightens up

Eva: "Well, it's about time. Let's see if these booster drives still works" she goes to activate the booster drive but Stan stops her

Stan: "Wait a second Molly. Let us check fuel levels on full throttle" Koji does some mathematics and we get the exact time we can start pushing

Koji: "Okay champ. You can step on it in exactly twenty second"

Eva: "Roger that!" Ondai turns to the left while Aikka gets near Eva. I look at the feed from camera on Arrow III right side to see Aikka... loading an arrow

Adam: "What the heck..."

Jordan: "Adam, you saw that?!"

Adam: "Yeah... What is he doing?"

Eva: "Okay, ten seconds before boosters. Hold on tight Jordan"

Jordan: "There's something fishy going off Molly. Aikka is right beside us and he's... loading an arrow"

Eva: "Relax Jordan. It's not like he's gonna shoot us"

Jordan: "It sure looks like it. But then again, he does owe me one"

Adam: "I don't know why he's doing this, but be careful Star. Keep your eyes open"

Eva: "You're starting to talk like Jordan. It will be fine. We trust Aikka after all"

Adam: "I... *sigh* Okay, just be careful Molly. Oh, and boosters are ready" boosters emerges from reactors as well as few stabilizers on top of them

Eva: "Here we go" She starts the additional boosters, ready to speed up. I look to the feed again only to see Aikka aiming at Arrow III and his arrow is glowing

Adam: "What the fuck are you doing Aikka?! Jordan, shoot him!"

Jordan: "You double crosser!" He aims at Aikka, but before he can fire, Aikka's arrow hits a set of boosters, shutting off the rest of Arrow III systems. Everything we have still on is radio and video feed. Aikka passes the duo and Eva tries to safely crash land Arrow III in the snow, succeeding after hitting a rock

Adam: "Dammit... we trusted you. But now I know better" I clench my fists

Don: "Fourth race and still no points. I'm not sure we can recover"

Adam: "The damage is not too big. It was a small EMP, shutting off the systems. It should be good by now. Molly, Jordan, you two are up?"

Jordan: "Yeah" he growls "When I get my hands on him, I will make him pay for that. And double"

Adam: "Leave something for me. I will strangle him so much he will turn from orange to purple"

Eva: "What're you all talking about?! I'm not quitting! This race is not over! We can still score! We can still-"

Adam: "You didn't disengage the boosterdrive"

Eva: "Wha-AAaa!" Arrow IIII starts up, with both hyperdrive and booster drive engaged. It makes the star-racer drag itself through the snow. It stops a while later "Why?! Why did he do that?!" She slams her fist into the glass of her cockpit

Adam: "Like I told you. It's everyone for themself. He tried to get our trust to later stab us in the back"

Eva: "He'd never do that!"

Don: "Unfortunately, it's true Molly. The Ultimate Prize is just too valuable. Return to the flying temple immediately. It's all over, at least for today"

Eva: "Huh?... Guys, did you pick that up? The gate indicator now points to the ground"

Koji: "Uh..." he checks it up "Affirmative. Probably went haywire with the crash. I wouldn't worry about it"

Adam: "Great. It's another bad day Star. Come back" I look at the map, showing all the other competitors flying through the gate... and turning back "Huh?"

Stan: "Am I dreaming or they all missed the gate"

Adam: "Nope, they missed the gate"

Don: "What?"

Adam: "The gate.... it's underground! Molly, turn off the booster drive, start Arrow III and get down!"

Eva: "Really?! Then let's get to work!" she deactivates the drive and starts Arrow. She gets more power to the left reactor, getting Arrow back to how she was supposed to fly. "Jordan, do me a favor"

Jordan: "Is it to hurt Aikka? If yes then I need to wait for Adam to ge-"

Eva: "No, not now. Just shoot the ice below us"

Jordan: "You got it" he shoots the ice, soon revailing a revine

Adam: "Well... after all, Aikka did us a favor"

Eva: "Couldn't say that better. We're back in the race!" she flew down the cave and we lost signal

Adam: "Well, there is nothing more now than to sit and wait"

'There is no way someone else would find out before us. Kross is too proud, Aikka is his lapdog and follows him. Ning and Skun don't have a crew so they fly behind everyone. Muir sensed them, but he didn't turn to them at the start. Sul could sense them the same way as Muir, but couldn't tell on what level they are. I dunno about. Furter is just an idiot and I don't know anything about O. And Ondai...' I gasp

Adam: "That's right. The only one who could have known about that is Ondai. He was collecting the data on us. I'm not saying this too much, but today, you need to be reckless, Eva"

Koji: "We got the signal back! Molly just passed the gate! They won!"

Stan: "Heck yeah!" Him and Koji high five

Adam: "Woohoo!" I ran out of the room, forgetting about my clothes "Come on, let's congratulate them!"

Koji: "Adam, your coat!" I run back and grab both mine and Eva's coats

Adam: "Yeah, thanks" I leave the room again and get downstairs. The yellow light just finished getting Arrow III back up. Eva opens up the cockpit "Hey! Down here!" Eva looks at me, Stan and Koji as we clap, before jumping down. I catch her "Hey there star racing Queen. Did you have any troubles with Ondai?"

Eva: "How did you?"

Adam: "Deduction, dear Wattson. Deduction"

Eva: "So... where is my prize for winning?" she smirks. I peck her cheek, making her giggle "Much better" I put her down on her legs. Don comes from around the corner, all smiling and clapping his hands

Don: "Bravo" he gets in front of Eva and offers her a long awaited smile, making Eva blush a little

'He called Stern. Good too see that Wei family is getting back together'

Eva: "Thank you sir"

Stan: "Okay! We got our first points! Let's celebrate!"

*timeskip*

Me, Stan and Koji set up a speaker and some lights while Don goes to do the drinks. We get our little party going in the courtyard while I sit over the edge of our module, staring at Nourasian's temple

Adam: "Why the hell did you do that Aikka? Me and Eva trusted you" I then hear footsteps behind me "Hey Star"

Eva: "Hey. What's on your mind?"

Adam: "I don't know. It's a mess with everything today. I'm happy you finally won and mad at Aikka *sigh* It's a mess, and I guess it always was mess" Eva sits next to me

Eva: "So..." I look at her, smiling at me "A penny for your thoughts?" I chuckle

Adam: "Alright. So I will start-"

???: "I hope I'm not interrupting you two" we turn our heads around to see Don

Adam: "Not at all, boss. I think you two have a talk to do. I'll be with the guys downstairs" I walk down and join Stan, Koji and Jordan near the table

*3rd POV*

Back with Eva and Don upstairs

Don: "I've never had a chance to ask you much about your life"

Eva: "Uh,huh" she sips her drink

Don: "So, do you have any brothers or sisters back on Earth?" Eva shakes her head "I see, an only child. Your parents must've smother you" Eva growls and turns her head to Don "Where were you working before you joined the team?"

Eva: "Working?"

Don: "Um, yes, as a mechanic. That's what you were doing before, wasn't it?"

Eva: "Yes, of course. A mechanic. Well, there were several places. The last one was..." she thinks a little "Brokaro Motoracing, yeah"

Don: "Brokaro Motoracing?" his face grimaces "I happen to know Clyde Brokaro quite well. He worked for me for several years"

Eva: "Huh?"

Don: "After his racing team went bankrupt" Eva's hand starts shaking, but she calms it down with her second hand

Eva: "Well I, I mean. Look, I worked. Who cares where?"

Don: "Listen here. Have you ever heard of the Stern Boarding School, young lady?"

Eva:" I, uh... Stern Boarding...? Isn't Adam from there?" The two have a staredown. Don walks towards Eva

Don: "I'll be more direct. Are you really my daughter, Eva?" Eva gets shocked and looks away before looking back at Don with a smirk

Eva: "If I were your daughter, you'd know that immediately. I mean, you really wouldn't have to ask me, would you?"

Don: "Huh?"

Eva: "Now if you excuse me, I'd like to take a look on Wheezing Arrow and walk around with my boyfriend. Great day today, huh" She runs downstairs, leaving Don speechless

*Adam POV*

I'm waving a goodnight to Jordan, Stan and Koji as they enter their room. Then Eva walks down the stairs, with a frown

Adam: "Let me guess, he confronted you?" Eva nods "Do you wanna talk about it?" Eva shakes her head "Snuggles?" she nods and we enter our room. After changing to our sleepwear I start the heater and sit on my bed. "*sigh* A penny for your thoughts?"

Eva: "It's just... I want us to be a family again, but not like this. Would you like a father like him?"

Adam: "Oh hell no" I put my hands in the defensive manner

Eva: "That's why I would rather be a Molly for the rest of my life"

Adam: "Oh man, oh man. Are you sure you don't want to... make up with Don? We still don't know if the Ultimate Prize will allow you to reincarnate Maya. Life and Death is a balanced matter. And if that would be the case, then he would be the only family you've left"

Eva: "No"

Adam: "Huh?"

Eva: "No. I still have you"

Adam: "*sigh* Okay, if anything we'll stay with my aunt. You alright with this, Molly?"

Eva: "I'm good with that..." She lied down next to me and closes her eyes "Goodnight Adam"

Adam: "Goodnight Molly"

*3rd POV, back with Don Wei*

After Eva left him alone, Don stares at the horizon

Don: "Oh Eva..." he looks down "It's really you"

A/N Another chapter, not as long as the previous one, but still long enough. We've learned that Adam and Eva know each other since diapers, just don't remember it. Anyway, feel free to comment and vote. Stay safe and I will see you next time!

Punkie out!

Oban Star Racers belong to Savin Yeatman-Eiffel

OCs belongs to me