Chapter I: The Beginning of the End
It was a crisp spring morning and all signs pointed towards it being a good day, yet Ilana sat dejected in her home. This was not lost on Lance as he entered the kitchen with his stomach growling of hunger. However, her well being superseded his own so he asked, "Are you feeling okay? Usually it's days like these that make you peppy."
She looked back at him then turned back and lowered her head, "It's just that recent events have started to make me wonder what we're doing."
Lance sat down across from her and asked, "What do you mean?"
"Losing Octus, the three Mutraddi mega-beasts sent to Earth, trying to write off our extensive absence to the school, how long is this going to go on for?"
Lance simply looked down, "I don't know."
Tense silence passed as the two Galalunaians waited for Octus to come down, yet 10 minutes passed and he was nowhere to be found. Lance got up and ascended the stairs with Ilana falling in behind. They opened the door to his room to find him standing in the middle of it surrounded by his comprehensive security system.
"Octus?" Lance replied to the motionless robot. No response. He called him again with no response. Getting frustrated, Lance walked up and tapped on Octus to no further avail. He coming down for a more intense knock when Octus light up, startling Lance.
"Lance, Illana," Octus shouted in his synthetic voice before realizing the two were already present, "Oh, there you are. I have some peculiar news."
"What is it?" Ilana asked, "Is it good or bad?"
"Unclear," Octus answered, "But it warrants extended observation. I've been monitoring the Riftgate since last night and detected an anomaly within space itself."
Octus projected a detailed map of the solar system and highlighted a bulge a short distance from the planet Mars..
"Preliminary scans indict it is a Riftgate signature and it does originate from Galaluna. It is also definitely NOT Mutraddi in nature. I am reading now organic lifeforms or bio-mechanical signatures present."
Lance glanced at Ilana who was now starting to beam. Her smile looked as though it would stretch across her face when she said, "Could it be something from my father?"
"Possible, but I'm not sure," Octus answered after a brief moment of hesitation, "But my calculations say it should be here within an hour. We should be on our guard."
For an hour they patiently, though also tensely, monitored the bluge as it kept getting closer to Earth. Upon the hour as Octus predicted, the Riftgate opened and a swarm of cylindrical machines zoomed across all four corners of the globe. No attacks came from them as individual cylinders hovered over he major cities of Earth. News stations kept round the clock coverage of their arrival and speculated on their purpose as crowds continued to flood around them. The Galalunian trio knew exactly what they were.
"Royal broadcast drones!" Illana exclaimed, "My father used them all the time to broadcast messages all across Galaluna. He must've sent them to give us the all clear to go home. Finally this nightmare is over."
Unfortunately, when the holographic display buzzed on, the massive figure of the King did not appear. Instead, sitting on his throne, was menacing figure wearing a cycloptic cap. It was General Modula.
"Modula!" Lance said surprised, "He's supposed to be dead. What's going on?"
"Is…is he the one behind all of this?" Illana stammered, "It can't be true, he would never betray my father or the planet. This is all a sick joke."
Their outbursts were interrupted by the General as he rose up from the throne and faced the camera. He gave a devious smile and said, "Greetings people of Earth, I am General Modula, leader of the Mutraddi and conqueror of Galaluna. Over the past year I have sent creature after creature in pursuit of a single target, the princess of Galaluna, heir to the throne here on this planet. In her companionship are two figures, a robot and a Galalunian solider. I know she and her guardians are among you, besting each threat I throw at your pathetic backwater world. You may know it as the Titan, an appropriate name you've given it. However, this little game must come to a close. At this moment, I am sending a fleet of my Mutraddi forces to your planet."
Modula motioned towards the ruined cityscape of Galaluna, destroyed buildings and corpses lining the streets.
Motioning back to him, he continued, "Unless you wish the same for Earth, you will have Princess Ilana, Corporal Lance and the robot known as Octus present upon the arrival of my forces. I think you'll come to the most sensible solution."
As Modula vanished in static, three pictures lingered in his place, one of Ilana, Lance and Octus. Ilana and Lance sat down on the couch in their living room and remained silent. After a few minutes, Ilana broke the tension.
"Our secret is out, everyone knows who we are now," Ilana said glumly.
Lance cross his arms and grunted, "Looks like he's made our choice for us, it's time to go home."
"We aren't strong enough to take on the whole of the Mutraddi forces, I hate to say it, but he's one. I don't know why Modula betrayed us Lance, but whatever game he's playing he simply had to wait for the right time to force our hand."
Octus, previously disguised as Newton in the living room, turned it off and said, "I'm getting a message from G3, it's urgent."
"Looks like Solomon is finally going to get his answers from us," Lance muttered.
As they walked outside, a crowd had gathered around their home. Most of their faces carried the expression of confusion, some anger. Lance and Ilana wanted to switch on their armor, but the piercing stares from their neighbors, people they had gotten to know and bond with, was a heavy burden. Octus scanned the crowd and found Barb, who didn't seem at all surprised at the news. He could hear her tell a neighbor in a series of chuckles, "I always knew something was off, but who am I to judge." They could bear them no longer and finally flew off towards Solomon's coordinates.