A/N: Hey y'all! Guess who's back with some Ilanca action? x3 Lolz, I was rewatching some old eppies of Sym-Bionic Titan yesterday (daaang, I wish they'd air the new season already! -.- I'mma gettin' impatient!) and I got the idea for this. It's probably really pointless and bland, and really has no variety to it, but I enjoyed writing it anyway. ^_^ Hope you like it!
Disclaimer: I will never own Sym-Bionic Titan. If I did, all my fanfic ideas would go into episodes. x3
Ilana pried her eyelids open at the sunlight streaming through her window. Wide awake and unable to return to slumber, she sat up and stretched with a dainty yawn, something that would've been considered rude in Galaluna no matter how small or spontaneous it was. She turned and read the time on her clock - 9:30 - before squirming out of her warm comforter and slipping on some houseshoes. No alarm needed for a Saturday morning.
For the heck of it, Ilana got dressed (truth be known, she'd just jumped at the opportunity to wear the new outfit she'd purchased the evening before; darkwash skinny jeans with a sparkly boyfriend t-shirt framed by a long-sleeved, flowing black shrug/cardigan and high heels that added a few inches to her petite height and clicked the floor as she walked.)
As she flounced down the staircase the delicious aroma of Octus cooking breakfast wafted through the air and tickled her nose. Strangely, the volume of the TV in the kitchen sounded like it was turned down low, and Octus' and Lance's voices were equally so...and grave. Did I just hear my name? Curiosity and panic quickening her step, Ilana burst through the swinging door and braced herself for whatever bad news awaited.
This was the sight that greeted the princess.
..She saw Lance boredly flicking through channels on the television and shoveling food into his mouth. And Octus was at the stove, apron and all, sizzling up something. "Good morning, Ilana," the robot monotoned over his shoulder.
Ilana blinked. "Um..morning." She slipped into a chair at the table. Had she misheard, looked too deeply? At first glance everything seemed fine. ..But no. She frowned. The air was heavy with the remnant of a grim conversation. Ilana had learned to look for the signs after her father's royal meetings with the council. And Lance, who would usually comment to her something like, "What's the big occasion?" about her apparel, was strangely silent and consistently flipping from channel to channel. A closer look at his deep ebony eyes revealed that his focus wasn't on the tv at all. It was like he wasn't even there.. like his thoughts were elsewhere, a million miles away. Even Octus didn't supply them with information about new data he'd run like he usually did each morning.
Yes, Ilana decided with surety, something had definitely gone down.
Octus brought a plate stacked with french toast to the table. "Breakfast, anyone?" His tone didn't let on that anything was out of the ordinary. Then again, he was a robot.
Ilana cut to the heart of the matter instantly. Her appetite could wait; her curiosity could not. "I want to know what you two were talking about before I came in," she demanded firmly with a pointed gaze at both of them.
Lance's finger stopped, hovering above the remote in mid-press. He and Octus exchanged frowning glances, which made Ilana more certain of her convictions than ever.
Ilana tapped the table. "Now. I can make it an order." She really hated throwing her superiority as a princess in their faces, which was why she never did it often; she didn't want to give anyone reason to believe she thought she was better than them, never had. But as the duty of heir of Galaluna, she deserved to know what was going on.
Octus met Lance's eyes. "She needs to know."
But Ilana's guardian was unwavering. "No, she doesn't," he answered through gritted teeth, shooting Octus a meaningful, warning look and obviously sending him a message with the air of something like, "We talked about this, remember?"
Octus straightened, suddenly with a new resolve. "I'm sorry, Ilana. It's really no cause for concern."
"Then why won't you tell me?" the blonde countered with forced patience. Suddenly her eyes landed on the remote gripped tightly in Lance's hand. As if he didn't want anyone to take it.. Then it clicked. It must be something on the television!
Unfortunately, Lance had been following her eyes and seen the flash of realization in them, so he was prepared when Ilana lunged for the remote. He reached out, quick as a flash, and gently grabbed Ilana's wrist with his free hand, inching the one with the remote further away. Glaring, Ilana persistantly extended her other arm, spiraling out of her seat with the momentum, but it was in vain. Lance, having the skill of the Corporal he was, used the arm he was holding Ilana's wrist with to whip out and pin Ilana's other arm down to the table. It wasn't enough to hurt, just to show he was serious and meant business. However, this obviously put Ilana in an awkward and uncomfortable position. Realizing this, Lance tossed the remote to Octus and gently took hold of the arm he'd pinned down. This way, he had both her arms in his grasp and would be able to withstand any attack she might attempt. But he really hated the wounded look in her doe-brown eyes. It made Lance feel...slightly traitorous and guilty for retaliating, and even laying a hand on the princess. But he held fast.
"W..Why are you going to such lengths to hide something from me?" The hurt in Ilana's voice was evident.
Lance tried to avoid her fierce gaze. "We're protecting you. Doing our duty."
"Protecting me? From what, the television?" Ilana's expression begged - well, more like commanded - answers.
Lance suppressed a sigh. "Just trust me, ok?" He waited for the subtle movement of her head, her defeated nod. When she finally did, Lance gradually released her.
Then before his mind could even comprehend what had happened, Ilana darted over and defiantly snatched the remote from Octus' meaty hands. Features fixed into a determined frown, Ilana flipped through channels.
"Ilana, no!" Lance shouted, lunging for her. But it was too late.
It stopped on the newstation. Ilana turned up the volume, listening intently to the broadcast.
"This just in, news flash. We have reports of the latest galactic battle that occurred last night," the woman was saying, a picture of the Sym-Bionic Titan in the right-hand corner. "We have no new leads on what exactly this Titan is yet, or even whether or not it's our ally. All we do know is that it's caused eight hundred and thirty-five million dollars worth of damage, five hundred and seventy-eight deaths, and three hundred eighty-two casualties.."
Ilana went numb. The shock of the anchor's words seeped into her with a jarring sting. The world around her faded. ..Deaths? Damage? ..WE'RE causing this..? In the deepest recesses of her jumbled mind, she registered the feel of Lance's hand on her arm, heard him repeating her name. He'd pried the remote out of her hands and shut off the tv, but the damage was already done.
Ilana felt her throat close up, and before her attendants could say anything to possibly console her, she ran out the door and outside, on the verge of tears. The slam of the front door signaled her hasty departure.
Lance shot an almost accusing glance at Octus. "I knew we shouldn't have told her!" Right before Ilana had came in, he and Octus had been debating whether or not to inform her. They both had decided it would've crushed her, so they decided to keep mum. At the sound of Ilana's heels clicking rapidly their way, wordlessly they'd jumped into their usual morning routine, hoping she hadn't overheard any of their conversation. But they shouldn't have underestimated her intelligence.
"Most agreed, Lance. A sensitive and compassionate heart and a caring disposition are important assets for a planet's leader, but unfortunately that means she doesn't take particularly sorrowful news in stride for the most part." Octus frowned. "However, it could not be helped. Ilana took matters into her own hands."
Deep down, Lance had to admire her for that, just a little bit. One thing he and the remotely different princess had in common - they both hated to be out of the loop (he'd learned the meaning of that idiom in English, when he was listening) and once their minds were set on something, there were no setbacks, no convincing them otherwise. It was time to call the shots.
"I'm going after her." Lance was all too aware of the dangers Ilana could put herself in, especially in her state. After all, when she'd run home in tears due to the Dark Shaman, she'd almost gotten hit by a car. Remembering this, Lance quickened his gait and shot out the door in a flash, without waiting for an answer from Octus.
I'm coming, Ilana.
Ilana blindly stumbled her way into a park, hardly aware of her surroundings as she sank down onto a bench and buried her face in her hands. So many people...wounded..dead...because of me. This was all her fault. She couldn't deny the inevitable. Both planets Earth and Galaluna were in peril because of Ilana. There was no way around it. She was the reason Galaluna was in an uproar as the Mutraddi searched for her and the source of all Earth's problems. She'd brought the enemy here. Either way, it was a lose-lose situation. Either way, she was hurting someone. "Oh, what have I done?" Ilana whispered, tasting her salty tears.
A child's sweet, drifting laughter forced Ilana's teary gaze up. Her eyes landed on the source, a bubbly, young girl around five by the looks of it with blonde ringlets and bright, happy eyes. The look of a girl that no problems or warfares had touched or broken. The look of innocence.. of a girl who loved fun and life.
Ilana felt a smile break through at another round of laughter from the girl as she climbed up a slide. "Daddy, catch me! Catch me when I come down!" she shrieked with a big, anticipating smile.
A grown man, presumably her father, crouched down at the bottom of the slide, arms extended. "Sure thing, pumpkin!" he called back, his eyes reflecting love and adoration for his daughter. She slid down and landed into his arms, squealing with laughter as she did. The father grinned, straightened and then threw her up into the air. Ilana gasped, but the little girl laughted delightedly, even more so when he caught her.
A woman with the little girl's flaxen curls strode up to them, trying to squelch a smile. "Honey, stop that! You make me nervous every time you throw her!" she chided, not unkindly. Ilana could concur.
"Aww, Mommy, it's fun!" the girl protested, content in her daddy's arms.
"Yeah, Mommy, it's fun," the father echoed with a tender, teasing smile at his wife.
The girl gasped and suddenly bounced eagerly, eyes dancing. "Daddy! Daddy, do the airplane!"
The father winked at his spouse. "Oh, I don't know, pumpkin.."
"Pleeeease, Daddy? With a big kiss on top!" the girl beamed. Her father finally complied and held her high above his head, face forward. She extended her arms and legs, shrieking with high-pitched giggles in excited delight as he ran and made plane noises. Her mother lingered back, following at a distance but watching with shining eyes and a fond smile.
She caught Ilana watching, and the alien averted her eyes, feeling like she had done something wrong, like interfering in on a personal moment or watching something that wasn't meant for her eyes. But the woman smiled at her, giving a light happy sigh as her gaze wandered back to her family. "I can have the worst day and they'll always manage to cheer me up." She nodded politely at Ilana before following her husband and daughter.
With the temporary distraction, Ilana had been able to momentarily forget her predicament at hand. Now as the family left, it came back to her in overwhelming waves of guilt. What if a little girl like that had been one of the five-hundred-and-something that'd gotten killed during the Titan's exploits? The very thought made Ilana choke for air. She couldn't even stand the thought of that possibility. What if kids had lost their parents or loved ones, or friends? It broke her heart. They must hate the Titan. And for good reason.
Ilana's visual of the family walking away became blurry as tears pooled in her eyes. They..they reminded her so much of her family. Before Mother had deceased, all three of them had had fun together like that. The day her mother had unexpectedly slipped from them was one of the hardest. Although her father continued to be affectionate to her afterwards, she'd never had fun like that ever again after Mother's death. Since then Ilana lived in fear that she'd lose Father, too. It'd increased tenfold the moment she was sent away from Galaluna.
Ilana was so engrossed in her thoughts she didn't hear the footsteps nor did she notice someone occupying the bench beside her. Only when the sound of a newspaper whipping open registered did Ilana look tearfully beside her. An elderly, grouchy-looking man sat there, skimming through his open newspaper. Ilana looked to the front page of it and read the headline - "Titan - Friend or Fiend?" She blinked several times to keep the tears at bay.
Gathering her courage and swallowing hard, Ilana leaned forward a little. "Sir?" No response. "Sir, if I could just take a moment of your time.." Still no response. "Mister, I need your shining wisdom that graces the elderly years." Maybe that wasn't the best thing to say. The old man grunted indignantly and licked his finger to turn the page. Ilana sighed and decided to talk anyway. She needed a listening ear. "What do you think of Titan?" Without waiting for a response, mostly due to the fear that he wouldn't answer her, or maybe that he would, she continued. "I mean..it's done lots of damage..and stuff...but at least it fends off the attackers, right? Sure, it was the one who brought the enemy here..but.." Ilana sighed and dropped her gaze, hands falling to her lap. "Oh, who am I kidding?" she moaned, closing her eyes. "Maybe we should just move somewhere else," Ilana added in a whisper, her face the picture of anguish. To another planet.. a desolate one.
The old man cleared his throat, rustling the newspaper. Ilana's eyes flashed open with a gasp. "Wait! You're right! Maybe..maybe we - er, I mean, they - can finish off the enemy! Or at least help with the damage - like community service, or reach out to the grieving families! Yes!" Ilana's face lit up with a renewed vigor. "You're absolutely right, mister! What a great idea! I've gotta tell Lance!"
Ilana leapt to her feet and thanked him profusely, trying to shake his hand but deciding against it, beaming. "You're such a good listener! Thank you so much! I've gotta go find my brother, thanks again for the advice!" Ilana headed off in search of Lance but at the last moment turned and waved at the old man even though she knew he probably wasn't watching, before taking her leave.
..From behind his newspaper, the old man smiled. "You still got it, Henry," he murmured with a chuckle, turning the page.
Ilana ran at nearly full speed toward home, nearly bursting from her idea. She loved helping people, especially those in need. She knew that no act could completely compensate for what Titan had done, but maybe they'd appreciate the effort.
In her excitement she nearly ran right into Lance, who gently grasped her arms to steady her. It was a reflex for him, a surprise for her. Ilana shook her head in a daze and began to apologize, but then her eyes sparkled when she saw who she'd literally bumped into. They exclaimed each other's names in sync. "Lance!" "Ilana!"
"Lance!" Ilana repeated, brimming with anticipation. Her words were rushed in her excitement. "I've come up with an idea!" As she relayed the details of the family at the park, and her memories, and the details of her plan, and the delightful elder who'd encouraged her, Lance's countenance grew less doubtful and more thoughtful.
"I guess that'd be fine. I don't see why not." Lance's eyes regarded her softly. "..But we can't help everyone, Ilana. You know that."
"I know," Ilana responded, sombering. "But...as daughter of the King, I was always taught to reach out to people, our subjects when they'd lost so much. To make up for a mistake. To..help."
"I understand." Lance frowned. "That's...admirable of you. But things are different here."
Ilana was getting irritated. Why couldn't he be as supportive as the elderly man? "They're people too, Lance! They have feelings like us and have lost loved ones, too! Like...us." She choked off, covering her mouth to conceal her trembling lips. She averted her eyes, feeling tears burning at the edge of her eyes.
Lance softened and drew Ilana into his arms, his embrace enveloping her with warmth. "..Hey, I'm sorry, alright? You and the old man are right. We'll help them. It's the least we can do. Ok?" He hated seeing Ilana so upset. It...did something weird to him.
Ilana was surprised at this public display of sincere emotion from him. A tingle of delight ran down her spine to her toes and back up again. She melted into the feeling of Lance's strong arms. She felt safe there. And, she knew right then, that she would not be the first to let go. Ilana nestled her head into the crook of his shoulder. "..Lance?"
"Yeah?" Lance held her protectively, wanting to shield her from all the hurts of the world yet knowing that was impossible. But maybe this moment helped. He enjoyed the feel of the delicate princess in his arms.
"..Don't hide anything from me anymore, ok?" Ilana whispered, her words soft. "Promise."
Lance closed his eyes, drinking in the serenity. "I won't.. I promise," he vowed with genuine feeling.
They both had a feeling it was a good start to the New Year.
A/N: Okies, to be honest, I didn't really like how this turned out. As it grew deeper into the story, the words kinda left me, so...yeah. Probably wasn't my best. But I hope you guys like it! ^_^ Thanks to my sister (Caraqueen) and my best friend (AJDIZZLE) for the idea about the elderly man. I loved it! x3 I'd appreciate some honest feedback, guys! I'm gonna be writing more Ilanca, just no promises on how soon they'll be up! I'm getting a job soon =3 Thankies! ^.^ PEACE! 8D