Ivy watched nervously as the pods grew closer, and then heard Lenan click a button behind her.

Nothing seemed to happen from her perspective, but the pod had gone into stealth mode, which basically made the pod reflect the area around it in such a way that it appeared invisible. The pods chasing them slowed for a second before accelerating again.

Lenan kept his course steady, and Ivy swallowed hard as she saw the pods getting closer. Lenan glanced out the back window, and then slowly edged to the right, getting out of the pathway of the pods.

"Any sudden movement might be seen, and then they would know where we were. They know we're in stealth mode, but can't do anything about. They're most likely just hoping we'll do something foolish to get ourselves seen." Lenan explained, and Ivy watched as the pods just kept going in the same direction, not veering to follow theirs.

After a few minutes, the pods were level with them, and Ivy watched in amazement as they still didn't see them.

"This thing really works, huh?" She commented, smiling, and feeling her hope rekindle.

Lenan made no comment to the statement, acknowledging it with silence before saying, "I'm going to have to turn off the lights in here to save energy for the stealth mode.

Ivy nodded, and then the pod went into complete darkness, except for the light shed by the galaxy outside peering through the windows.

Eventually, when Ivy looked outside again, she saw the three smaller pods headed back to Stellas. She placed a hand gently against the glass watching the beautiful stars gleaming outside the window.

The trip back to earth was mostly silence, until Lenan announced, "You can see the planet well from here."

Ivy stepped away from the window and turned to look out the front one, her eyes widening as she saw the planet in full, the green continents contrasting the blue oceans.

They came closer and closer to the planet, guiding to America, and then to California. Ivy gazed in awe as they flew over the city, with no one staring at them.

"Battery's low." Lenan said easily, guiding the controls with one hand towards a specific place he had in mind.

They landed by a mountain, where Lenan got out and pressed on a jet out of rock, when a door appeared. He pushed on it, and it widened, enough to put the pod in.

Getting back in the pod, he drove it inside, before they both got out and left the sort of garage. Lenan closed it behind them, and they both stood there awkwardly for a moment. The reality of all that had truly happened sunk in.

She looked over at Lenan, realizing the sacrifice he had made to get her back to earth. She walked over to him quietly and kissed him lightly on the cheek, looking away awkwardly after doing so, "Thank you for getting me back."

"Oh, no problem." he scratched the back of his neck, before pulling out a sort of device in his jacket. He pressed a button on it, and his appearance changed to look like a human's.

"Hey, let's head back to the conference building. My car may be parked there still." Ivy said, glancing again at him.

He looked at her, slightly confused, "You go. I'll find somewhere else to go."

"Nonsense." Ivy said, "After all you did for me, the least I can do is to help you out a little bit."

He smiled, and Ivy was randomly struck by how much it suited him, before starting to walk forward, "Hopefully my purse is in lost and found."

Lenan followed, and together, the two headed to the building, which unfortunately was several miles away. It was a long walk, and Ivy was particularly glad to get there.

Once there, she became painfully aware of how she appeared. Her once stark white shirt was dirty and ripped. Her black pants were wrinkled, and her boots were scuffed. Her ginger hair was full of knots, and she tried to finger comb through it, wincing as she worked through each knot.

Entering the building, Ivy immediately located the lost and found, sighing with relief when her purse was there.

She grabbed it, searching through the many items in there to make sure everything was still there. Miraculously, it was, and she pulled her car keys out of it, and then headed to the parking lot with Lenan.

Unlocking the car and climbing in, she turned the keys, and the engine roared to life. Lenan sat in the passenger seat, and then together, they started to drive to Ivy's home.

LE GASP. AN UPDATE.

I am so sorry, my poor readers, you've probably forgotten about this poor story which has been sitting in your library for forever without an update. You've probably also considered removing it from your library, and I really don't blame you.

But, here is an update. I cannot promise when the next update will be, but I hope it will be sooner than this one was.

Thank you so much for reading this still! You guys are the best. :)

<>Evara<>