okay, so this story is based on the future in the show, five years after the trio was sent to Earth. This supports all that LancexIlana stuff and infers that my other stories on earth already occured. this is more on the violent side including fights and stuff. disclaimer:I don't own sym bionic titan, hope you like it, this should be updated soon, and no i havn't abandoned my other fics
Lance and Ilana sat in the royal carriage driving away from a charity fundraiser on Galaluna. Two years ago they finally returned home and fought against the Mutraddi who occupied their home and forced them into exile on Earth for an additional three years.
Lance was twenty three, Ilana Twenty two; legally… the young princess could marry… Lance clutched a velvet box in his hands. When they returned home two years ago, Lance and Ilana were sitting on her balcony in the palace. They over looked the city as it was being rebuilt, they watched children run through the streets, everything was finally like it was before the attack; calm, peaceful… simple. The sun warmed the air, and the breeze blew through the white wood trees that surrounded the palace. That moment was when he confessed his love, his desire to be with her after their time on Earth.
He'd had feelings for her early on; it was hard not to feel attraction to the girl, not only was she the princess of his home world, but her true beauty and personality were all revealed when she was taken away from all of the guards and strict royal codes of behavior… manors. They grew close when living under cover together as an Earth family. Slowly, his simple feelings started getting too complex. They posed as brother and sister, so she was off limits completely for their cover identities. But as soon as they got back to Galaluna he was declared a hero. He had newly found social status which he had none of before; he was suitable to be around the princess.
As they would refer to it there, he asked her out. They'd been together for quite some time, and the boy was planning on proposing when they got back to the palace, more specifically on the balcony under the three moons.
The carriage moved through the streets, the white washed buildings around them illuminated from the moons watching from above. Ilana leaned her head on Lance's shoulder, "don't fall asleep, now." He lightly chucked.
She sighed, it wasn't a frustrated sigh or a depressed one, but rather a happy, content one. The fact that Mutraddi no longer hunted her, wars were no longer fought in her homeland, she could just gaze off at the capital city as she lay against her lover's body. His steady heartbeat gently pounding as the warmth from his body comforted her.
"Don't worry…" she yawned. Lance put his arm around her back; she rested on his rock hard chest as his fingers fiddled with the material of her dress.
"If you're tired, you can sleep. I'll keep you safe, promise." He smiled at the girl in his arms; her deep, cool black eyes met his. The freckles scattered across her face perfectly, her hair in a traditional Galalunian style with the back part up pointing to the moons. Blonde hair like the rays of the sun… perfect pink lips.
She closed her eyes; Lance felt his heart melt as he stared at the perfect, beautiful princess. "What a wonderful life we'll have…" he whispered to himself as he checked that the ring was still in his coat pocket. He'd already checked in with her father. He knew to full extent of the responsibilities that came with the marriage, he would become royalty, and eventually he'd rule Galaluna by. But that didn't matter, they could be commoners like they were on Earth and he'd love her just the same.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a huge explosion blasted their ears. Lance instinctively pulled Ilana in close and covered her, their carriage shook. He looked out the window; the first car in their convoy had been destroyed, bursting into flames.
Panic flowed through the air, members of the royal guard started to form a perimeter around their carriage. Men dressed in black suits appeared from all around, emerging from alley ways or from behind bushes. Others were positioned on the rooftops of the taller surrounding buildings and started shooting off the guards from above.
"What's going on?" Lance demanded to the head of security, who just approached the carriage.
"I don't know sir, it's a full scale ambush, communications are down! They're attacking from all directions, sir!" the soldier reported.
"I want a defensive perimeter established inside the circle, heavy guns and EMPs take offensive against the roof gunners. Make sure your men take positions from inside the vehicles, that'll keep them from getting shot from above. Move!" Lance ordered, the soldier saluted and started barking out orders.
"Come on, Ilana. We have to keep you safe." He said grabbing her hand, they had a force of seven royal guards now, three went to cover the princess.
"What is your plan, captain?" he asked Lance (he'd been promoted from corporal after their return)
"We need a safe house, clear that shop, we'll hide inside!" he said pointing to an empty, one story house. Bullets whizzed by, barely missing the group. Chunks of asphalt from the road kicked up, the captain drew a pistol from his jacket and shot down three of the enemies.
"The shop is clear, sir!" a guard said, running from the building.
"Good, every one fall back!" Lance shouted. Ilana was the first one inside, Lance stayed out to make sure all of the men got inside.
"Jackson, Remis! Get inside!" Two young soldiers positioned inside escort trucks turned to see the captain; they quickly ran towards him, exposing themselves to the attacks from above. More shots rained down. "Hurry, I'm not losing any men today!"
Lance ran out, shooting at the roofs to display some covering fire. The noise of combat rang through his ears, his heart pounded… the adrenalin rush was back, he may be a captain. He may be a noble now, rich and wealthy, living in the palace. But the old corporal was still in him, the frontline spirit was still there… and that meant never backing down from a fight.
With precision aim, he picked off seven or so men from the roofs and some who were advancing on the ground. Suddenly, he heard a wail, and legs collapsing on the gravel. He turned to see, Jackson was on the floor, his chest stained with blood, it didn't resent on his red combat jacket, but it showed on the undershirt.
"Sterus, Vector! Get out here, we have a man down!" he shouted to the men inside, two burley lieutenants rushed out carrying large machine guns, which were originally mounted to the roofs of the escort trucks, but were now being handheld.
The men started unleashing a rapid fire storm of bullets, the high pitched pop felt like a hammer being drilled into their ears, since none of them had the time to put on their noise protection gear. Lance and Remis dragged the boy inside, as a trail of blood stained the ground behind.
One of the heavy gunners fell to the ground, the other momentarily stopped shooting. "Sterus!" Lance cried out, a soldier from inside helped take Jackson inside. Lance grabbed the injured boy's rife and began to fire, hoping to buy enough time for Sterus to get back up.
"No, sir. You need to leave us." He groaned, crimson blood leaked out on the floor, but he picked up his gun and kept shooting.
"I don't leave men behind, especially the ones who served with in corps from the beginning!" He looked at the men; they'd fought by his side since he first was assigned to a squad. They'd practically been to hell and back together, several times.
"You're not leaving anyone behind." Vector said firing of more bullets from behind a metal power box. "You're moving forward, to safety. This is what we were trained to do, now go!"
Lance was breathless; he'd taken cover from behind a car. The courage, the bravery, the strength… the men had volunteered to be part of the princess' personal guard, they weren't in the front lines anymore... they didn't get assigned to deadly missions on a weekly basis… but that obviously didn't make them grow any softer.
"Like we used to talk about years ago… the hero always gets a happy ending." Vector said as he peered out from behind his cover and fired off a couple rounds. "You've got to get out of here, save the day, marry the pretty girl!"
"what about you, I'm not leaving you guys. You deserve your happy ending." Lance argued, sending off some more rounds.
"in this book, boss… you're the main character here… as long as that main character lives happily ever after, us supporting roles get their happy ending." Sterus said. "Maybe this bucket head will get one too!" he signaled jokingly to Vector.
Lance stared, speechless… he'd lose two good friends… but there was no talking them out of this, and they were the only people he'd ever met that were more stubborn than him. He saluted; they returned… all at once, the trio stood from behind their cover, Lance ran inside as the two old comrades fired their last shots.
"It's a damn good day to die!" Vector shouted at the top of his lungs, the men inside bolted the door shut, the windows had been barricaded with wooden tables and other furniture. Ilana came forward and put her arm around Lance. He watched helplessly from inside as a storm of bullets knocked the life out of his childhood friends.
Ilana and the remaining five soldiers carefully watched Lance, his back turned to everyone. All they could see was the back of his red combat jacket and his clenched fists. "We need to find a way out of here… I don't intend for their sacrifice to be in vein."
No one moved, they could hear the people outside moving closer. "Move it!" Ilana commanded, the men snapped out of their trance and started looking around. She stared at Lance, he looked at her.
"I'm fine, right now let's just keep you safe." The captain handed her his pistol, he'd grabbed the rife for himself. They proceeded to the back area of the shop, where it was safer, the barricades wouldn't hold for long.
"Captain, we've found something." The head of security said, signaling them to follow. In a small, dark room three soldiers were lifting a hatch in the corner. They looked inside, a ladder lead downward into a narrow passage way.
"What is it?" The captain asked cautiously.
"An access tunnel, for technicians and electricians to work on the city's pluming and power utilities, these should lead us to anywhere in the sector… we just have to use them to get out of here so we can contact the king for help."
"Alright, but I want it scouted first… there's no telling what's down there."
"I've already sent Averiez and Milton down there, once they find a way out, they'll report back-"a loud crash was heard.
"they've broken through the front door!" a soldier exclaimed from the other room, several gunshots blasted.
"There is no time." Ilana said climbing down the hole.
"My lady, I must advise…" the head of security said.
"She's a brave, strong young woman… she can handle being first. Besides, Keaton, arguing with her is futile." Lance laughed climbing down, Keaton, the head of security followed with Jackson and Remis not far behind.
Lance set his boots down on the damp floor; the air was thick and cold. It was too dark to see more than two feet forward. "shh." He whispered, the group stood still, heavy clanks of metal boots thudded from the room above.
"Anything?" a raspy voice asked.
"No, they've disappeared, sir." Another responded.
The first voice sighed in frustration, "I want this entire building searched, if you find them… terminate, but bring me the princess and her captain alive… I have a score to settle…"
The boots clanked away, Remis climbed up the ladder and put his ear up to the closed trapdoor to listen. He listened for a moment, "I think they left."
Suddenly, the trapdoor flew open and a man with a gun stood looking down, without hesitation he pulled the trigger, Remis fell to the floor with a thud. Ilana gasped, Lance gently put his finger on her lips.
The voice said into the darkness, "I know the rest of you are down there, you can run, you can hide… but you can't escape, Lance. You can never escape…" He hadn't seen them, but they could see him… even if he had no eyes, Lance could know that voice anywhere… Baron Varus, the boy who tried to kill him so many years ago.
"Down the tunnels… quietly…" Lance whispered. Jackson stared at the boy, dead on the floor.
"What about Remis?" He asked, not taking his eyes off of his friend. "We can't just leave him."
"We have to, let's go." Lance said walking further. The boy didn't budge. "He's dead, there's nothing we can do for him, and unless you want all of us to end up like he did. We'd better move."
"Yes, sir." Jackson said holding back tears, he followed not far behind. He had noticeable trouble moving from his injury earlier. They'd been moving through the network for several minutes when they heard echoes of footsteps from behind.
"They're following us." Keaton said quietly.
"Which, is why we need to keep moving." Lance didn't stop his pace, Ilana kept up. Keaton stayed back with Jackson.
"Stop…hold on…" Jackson said, leaning against the wall. His wound had re-opened, blood was leaking out. Ilana stopped and took a bandage from Keaton's bag, she switched out the old ones and tightly placed on new, clean pairs. "I'm holding the group back…"
"Nonsense, we can't be far from another exit, we just have to keep moving." She said hopefully.
"Thank you, your highness… but your safety is the highest priority… and I'm compromising that… I think I should stay behind."
"We're not leaving you" she comforted. Being a kind, caring, and outgoing person was just in her programing, Lance admired that.
"With all due respect, I will stay here and hold them off… they know we're in the tunnels, I'm only holding you back… please, they killed my friend. I want to fight." Ilana stared into his bloodshot eyes; his face was bloody and tired. But yet, he was determined.
"Well… good luck, may the moons shine in your favor." She put her hand on his shoulder, Ilana stood up and moved on. Keaton followed shortly behind; Lance gave him a nod as the boy drew his pistol and hid behind an old supply cart.
They walked in the dark for a few more minutes, Lance had taken the lead. He swept his hand against the wall; the only sounds were the light tip tap of the group's boots. Lance noticed more noise coming from around the corner ahead. Lance slung the rifle onto his back and quietly approached the corner.
The barrel of a gun swung around, he grabbed it and pulled it away from the wielder. Using both hands, he gripped the man's arms, "Whoa, sir! Corporal Averiez reporting, friendly!" Lance let his grip down and handed back the rifle. The two soldiers Keaton had sent, Averiez and Milton stood before him.
"Did you find anything, soldier?" the captain asked.
"yes, sir. There is an exit at a local hardware store a few minutes from here."
"good." Sounds of shots being fired echoed through the tunnels from far behind. "Let's move."
After a short run, they arrived at another exit way, the trap door above was open. "I'll check it out first." Keaton said climbing up the ladder. Once he was up, there was silence for a moment. "Clear."
"After you, Ilana." Lance gestured for her to go. After she entered, he was next followed by Averiez and Milton. Lance climbed up, there were shelves of tools everywhere, the lights were out, the only source of vision they had was the scarce amount of moonlight that crept through the front windows.
"Building is clear, sir." Keaton reported, just as if on cue the windows shattered, glass flying everywhere. Shots started to fire, Lance instinctively ran towards Ilana, grabbing her and covering her with his own body. They hid behind a rack of power drills, the shooting stopped and footsteps entered the room.
"Stay here." Lance whispered. He peered around the corner, all of the soldiers lay dead and several of the attackers searched the room. Averiez, Milton… both dead, but where was Keaton? One of the men came from behind.
"Surrender." He pointed his gun at Ilana. Others came and surrounded them, lance raised his rifle, Ilana drew the pistol he'd given her. "Put down the weapons!" The couple did no such thing.
"you have three seconds…" a different voice entered the room, Keaton walked towards them.
"Traitor… you no good piece of garbage…" Lance hissed. Men came disarmed them, Keaton examined the pistol taken from Ilana.
"Why?" Ilana asked Keaton. "I trusted you, we trusted you. My father picked you up from the slum, you earned a place in the royal guard… even a living quarters in the palace… you had the high honor of replacing captain Jared Hobbes…"
"If you haven't noticed, I live to serve… and when the orders that men like me serve grow corrupt… they must be… replaced, by a greater one. I am only serving a different order; it is nothing personal, my darling." Keaton said as if he were royalty. Nose held high, not even making eye contact. He slipped the pistol into his holster for a personal souvenir.
"You do not address her in that fashion. May I remind you that your fantasy order does not exist, and the king rules this land." Lance gritted his teeth.
"That old buffoon's days are numbered. When the new order rises, he will be nothing but a footnote in a history book."
"My father is a hero." Ilana said softly containing either a shout or a cry.
"Was… the Mutraddi your father barely defeated were mindless beasts, our order will involve organized Galalunian minds... we'll see if he's a hero afterwards." Keaton walked in closer. "Dispose of the Captain and continue as planned."
Two men approached Lance, one pulled out a combat knife and lunged. Quickly, he grabbed the wrist of the attacker and sent a kick to his ribs. The soldier dropped the knife and kneeled on the floor, the next sent a punch aimed at the captain's jaw. Lance raised his arm outward and blocked the blow with his lower wrist.
With the attackers arm outward, only one was open to defend his body. Lance used the same hand to push that one away, and then unleashed several hits on his opponent's chest and gut. He darted his head towards Ilana, the rest of the men had her arms behind her back, she frantically kicked around to get free.
Two men grabbed her by her legs and towed her away by all four limbs; she repeatedly kicked her right foot into one of their jaws until it bled. That's my girl. Lance thought as he rushed in to help, he grabbed a man by the shoulders and yanked him away. Next, he swung an underhand blow towards a neighbor, he watched as he crumbled backwards.
He side kicked another in the back of the skull; two men pulled at Ilana's dress and forced her towards Keaton, who was waiting at a hover pod. The princess swung her elbow at the man on the left, then stomped her foot on the right grunt's shin.
Lance grabbed the last man's neck and slammed his forehead against a shelf, then ran towards Ilana. He grabbed a dueling sword from Milton's belt. "Fight me, coward!" Lance shouted to Keaton.
"Very well." He pulled out the stolen pistol and pulled the trigger, a loud blast echoed through the store. Lance looked down and saw fresh crimson blood staining his uniform.
"Lance!" Ilana screamed and ran towards him; Keaton grabbed her hair and struck her in the shoulder with the handle of the gun. Lance's vision had gone red; he laid on the floor on his chest and dragged himself towards the pod that Ilana was being loaded into.
"Ilana!" he shouted, the men that he crippled earlier got up and went for the pod, as they passed Lance they either kicked him in the ribs or spat on him. He shouted and struggled to get up; he swung the blade at the nearest man. He simply sidestepped and kicked the blade on the floor.
The man laughed as the others gathered around, he stomped his boot downward on Lance's knee, and pushed him down. "Hurry up! The law authorities are on their way." The driver on the pod shouted, the men left Lance on the ground. He struggled to grab hold of a nearby shelf, after a great hassle; he stood himself up and limped towards the exit.
Keaton's pod sped away, Lance moved himself out of the shop. Another blast was fired, the round impaled Lance's leg. He bit his lip and collapsed, crawling towards the direction the pod went and cursing Keaton, he dragged himself on the cold, hard cement for a few seconds until passing out.
the next parts of the story will be focused on Lance finding Ilana, what happens to Ilana, and some conspiricies for control of Galaluna, stay tuned. and also, please check out my other stories, it'd mean a lot. (Science fair and Strike) don't hesitate to comment on what you think, any suggestions on what should happen next are greatly appritiated. questions/comments? anyways, hope you liked it, until next time!