Author's Note:

Alrighty, folks! I bring you chapter 3 :D

Sorry it's taken me so long to upload this. It's been a very busy few weeks, and I tend to proof-read over and over again before I'm satisfied. I'm a bit Type A XD

Again, a BIG thank you to all those who took the time to review this story! You don't know how much your kind words of encouragement mean to a first-time writer :D It's also very refreshing to know that there's still an active-and-interested fanbase for this fantastic show.

Sadly, I do not own Sym-Bionic Titan. I do, however, take credit for my own OCs, one of whom will make her first appearance in this chapter ;)

Enjoy!


"Very good, Lance. I think you and Baron have come up with a sound strategy. As for your ship, I would like you both to take the Galalunian Phantom. It's new technology we just received from your father about a week ago, via the rift gate transport system. It has a new and improved built-in cloaking device and transmission jammer. Edward built it specifically for advanced stealth missions, so I would like to give it a test run to see how well it does. You all are scheduled for takeoff tomorrow morning at 0300 hours. Can you be ready by then?"

Lance nodded, perking up at the mention of his father. Ever since he had learned of his father's identity as the mysterious leader of earth's G3 two years before their return to Galaluna, Lance had made sure to keep in regular contact with him. It had been strange at first, seeing his dad again after so many years; trying once again to find the father-son relationship that they had missed out on for so long. It had been difficult at times, but through a lot of conversations, time spent together, and getting to know each other again as they were – not as they had been – they had found that happy medium. And it wasn't just that, that had taken some time and effort to get used to, but also Lance adjusting to the state his father was now in. After testing the rift gate on that fateful night so many years ago, Edward had ended up being transported to earth with heavy injuries. His right arm had been unsalvageable, as well as his legs. It had ended up being Solomon who had found him and brought him to the, at the time, fledgling G3 for care. Edward had told Lance that after surgery and several months of rehabilitation, assistance, and patience, he had built himself a robotic body suit similar in appearance to the manus armor, but with Octus's body build. It was only with the aid of that suit that he had been able to carry on inventing; but once he had started, G3 quickly rose to technological heights far superior to earth's most advanced systems. Lance also remembered his shock when he and Solomon had mirrored each other in fighting style on the day the trio was taken captive by G3 during their first year on earth. It turned out that Solomon knew the Galalunian military combat style because Edward had taught it to him years prior. Now, his father stood as one of the most well respected and successful men on earth. Lance had asked his father if he would return to Galaluna after they had rebuilt and restored the kingdom, but his father hadn't committed to a definite time frame. He'd stated that he did wish to return one day, but that he wanted to be sure that the place he'd called home for over a decade would be able to withstand any extraterrestrial attack that could be thrown at it. Thus, he'd stayed on earth to begin the process of informing and arming the nations of earth with more advanced technology. He'd talked with Lance about two months ago, stating that he would be able to finally return home in the next five months or so, and that he'd be in touch with an update. Lance hadn't heard from him since, and was hoping everything was alright. Knowing that he was still inventing gave Lance some reassurance that all was well on his father's end.

He cracked a smile as he nodded to his leader. "Yes, sir. I'll check in with Baron, and let him know. We'll depart at your command."

The king nodded approvingly. "Very good. Dismissed, Major General."

Lance straightened, saluted to the king, and left to go find his long-time frienemy.

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Walking down the corridor, he checked the time on his communicator: 5:45. 'Hmm...past dinner. Maybe I'll just skip and go find Ilana after I finish with Baron.' Lance thought as he continued his trek toward the training arena. If Baron was anywhere, Lance figured he would be there.

Surprisingly enough, however, Baron was not there upon Lance's arrival. He asked a few of the cadets if they had seen Colonel Baron, to which they answered in the negative. He did, however, find the ten other soldiers who would be joining them on their mission, and was able to fill them in on the departure time. After making sure they were all set and ready to go for morning, Lance continued his search for Baron.

After a few hours with no success in locating his counterpart, Lance was thoroughly miffed.

"Dammit, Baron. I've walked the entire compound. Where the hell are you?" Lance mumbled to himself as he reached the last possible place he could check: The barracks.

He marched into the building he knew Baron's sleeping quarters to be located, up three flights of stairs, and down the hall to the furthest door on the end. He grabbed the handle, and was about to turn it and throw the door wide open in righteous fury when he heard muffled voices coming from the other end.

'Wait, voices? Baron doesn't have any roommates.' He thought.

Now Lance's curiosity was peaked. He didn't know Baron to have any friends.

He slowly cracked the door, took a look inside, and felt his face flame up like an erupting volcano as his grip on the doorknob slackened, causing the door to swing open and fully expose the two very recognizable occupants in the room; both very much unclothed, but thankfully mostly covered by the blankets.

Lance vaguely registered a high-pitched scream and rustling of fabric before a shoe came flying at his face. He grabbed it on reflex, but failed to dodge the fist that connected with his stomach just a moment later. It wasn't a hard punch, but still good enough to knock the wind out of him slightly and cause him to hunch forward. From his somewhat bent-over position, he heard Baron yell something along the lines of "Get out, you perv!" before the door was slammed in his face.

Recovering from his shock and straightening up, Lance collected himself and spoke through the crack in the door; his voice slightly weak and audibly strained. "Sorry I interrupted your, um, personal time, Baron, but I need to talk to you. It's urgent."

Lance could hear muffled swearing and various death threats coming from the opposite end of the door, which made him chuckle to himself, despite the circumstances.

After a few minutes of more fabric rustling inside the room, the door opened and Baron stepped into the hallway, fully clothed, closing the door behind him once more. He looked like he was ready to explode. "WHAT could be so important that you had to pull THAT stunt, huh?!" he hissed in a low, quiet voice; not wanting to draw any attention from anyone who may have been close by. All the soldiers who lived in Baron's barracks were supposed to be at their nightly training session at the moment, but he didn't want to be careless.

Lance took a step back, raising his arms in a submissive fashion. "I said I was sorry, didn't I? I came to tell you that we'll be leaving at three o'clock tomorrow morning. You'll need to get yourself ready and get some sleep before then. We're taking a new ship that my father just recently sent over from earth. It's called the Galalunian Phantom, and has an advanced cloaking device and transmission jammer. I'll show you how to use them in the morning, okay?"

Baron sneered, but nodded in confirmation all the same. After a moment of awkward silence, Lance couldn't resist the Cheshire grin forming on his face as he crossed his arms in front of his chest, aiming a knowing look at Baron. "Soooooo, First Lieutenant Sarah Byers, huh? She's quite the catch. I always did see you with a fiery redhead".

Sarah was a very well-known and respected member of the Galalunian army. Everyone knew her, and the majority of the unmarried men watched her like hawks circling fresh roadkill. Standing at 5'6", she was all long legs, full lips, and blemish-free skin, topped with an hourglass figure. Her long, curly red hair matched her explosive personality. She was a true spitfire, and everyone knew not to mess with her; the perfect combination of beauty and danger. She was also a phenomenal riflewoman, having earned all three military badges: Marksman, Sharpshooter, and Expert during only her first year of service. It was her skills with a gun that sealed her status among her peers. Not many others could best her with a firearm, on or off the battlefield. Not only did she have both beauty and natural ability, she was also highly intelligent. Though she still had quite a bit to learn from her superiors, she was showing a lot of promise as a strategist. The generals had all agreed that, with the proper tutelage, her analytical skills would one day be a great asset. Anyone would be lucky to have her as a significant other, and clearly Baron knew that all too well.

Baron's face turned a shade of ember as he backed Lance into the corner of the hallway, jabbing his finger repeatedly into the other man's hard chest as he spoke. "Don't EVER mention this again to anyone, you hear me?"

At first, Lance thought he might be able to string this out and have some fun with it for a while, but when he saw the look in Baron's eyes, all his bravado immediately dissipated.

Behind the mask of anger that he wore, Baron was terrified, and it shook Lance to his core. He was very familiar with that fear himself, and easily recognized it in others.

'Oh...' Lance thought, understanding dawning. 'Right. Code of conduct in the Galalunian Military states no relations between coworkers; officers and soldiers alike. If you're caught, it's an immediate dishonorable discharge for both parties.'.

Suddenly, Lance felt sympathy he didn't know he was capable of feeling for his counterpart. He needed confirmation, though, before he was willing to let this go. Locking eyes with his former bully, who looked nervous and defensive, Lance set his face in a serious and pointed look.

He asked a simple question, "Do you love her, Baron?".

Baron withdrew his finger from Lance's chest, completely taken aback. 'What the hell?' he thought. "How is that any of your business?".

He wasn't expecting the hard look that followed in Lance's eyes, nor the hidden compassion behind them. It was totally throwing him. This was not the Lance he knew. As far as he was aware, Lance didn't do compassion.

Lance took a deep breath before replying. "If your only using her for fun and entertainment, then I'm gonna have to report it...If you love her, though, that's something I can sympathize with.".

This time, Lance was the one backing Baron up and into his closed door, as he had begun stepping toward his long-nosed rival while Baron kept two paces away from him. Lance maintained eye contact the entire time, his features softening as he continued to speak. "If you really care about her, your secret is safe with me. I promise.".

With that, Lance placed a hand on his rival's shoulder; giving a reassuring squeeze before withdrawing, waiting for Baron's reply.

Baron averted his eyes; scratching at his neck, and trying to hide his embarrassment. He'd been caught red-handed. How was he going to handle this?

Finally, he looked back up and met Lance's own dark pools, the color once more rising on his cheeks and neck. He knew he needed to be honest with him if he wanted this to stay under the radar. If nothing else, the last few years had taught him that Lance was a man of his word.

Nodding, he said "Yes, I do, and I would appreciate it if this stayed between the two of us."

Trusting what he saw in the older man's face, Lance gave a slow, steady nod and extended his hand out.

Baron looked leerily at the offered hand for a moment, before sighing and extending his own. The two shook on it, and Lance turned to leave.

"I'll see ya in the morning, Baron. Good night."

Baron stared after Lance's retreating back, completely baffled by the entire encounter; one of his junior's sentences running around in his head like an object in a pinball machine being whacked to and fro. "If you love her, though, that's something I can sympathize with."

'What did he mean by that? Sympathize?' Baron thought as he watched Lance go. Before he could stop himself, he called out to the retreating visage of his younger counterpart. "Lance!".

Lance stopped and turned around, having only gotten halfway down the hall by that point. Baron swallowed nervously before following up on his call. "We're not done discussing this. You said something that I'm curious about. Tomorrow, during the flight, I'd like to talk. We'll be the only two in the cockpit. Is that alright with you?"

Lance figured he knew what Baron was referring to, and wasn't sure he should agree. He also knew, though, that Baron, like himself, was stuck in a situation which currently had no favorable solution. An eye for an eye, right? If either of them ratted the other out, there'd be hell to pay. He didn't think anyone wanted that outcome.

Against his self-preservation instincts, Lance gave a nod; choosing to trust his fellow soldier, despite their shared past. The last several years had taught him that while Baron may not have changed in every aspect from when they were kids, he had matured into an honorable man. Lance didn't believe that Baron would sell out one of his own, even if it was Lance whom he had dirt on.

Baron nodded in return before turning to open the door to his room. Before he did, though, he looked over his shoulder and called out, "Goodnight, Lance."

In spite of himself, Lance felt himself grinning as he watched his comrade disappear back into his room. 'I might have just turned my long-time enemy into my ally...and through blackmail, no less.' He thought humorously as he continued on his way back to the palace, backpack in hand for the morning.

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It was 11:00 by the time Lance managed to sneak back into the palace and below Ilana's balcony.

Hiding his backpack in the old stone wall running along the edge of the wood line that abutted the palace, Lance climbed up the vines growing on the side of the large brick wall, and onto Ilana's generously sized marble landing.

He quietly opened her sliding glass door, letting the warm summer breeze blow past her large curtain and gently into her bedroom. Next, he slowly moved the curtain aside, allowing the night sky access into the bedchamber; the moonlight creating a sort of ethereal glow inside the previously dark space.

He looked around the room slowly, his eyes stopping on the slim and curvaceous figure of his lover, snuggled up in bed and sound asleep. A gentle smile graced his lips as his eyes softened, watching her steady, even breathing.

Making sure not to disturb her, he quietly stepped into her room and closed the glass door. He stripped out of his t-shirt and jeans, into the pajama bottoms he'd brought with him, and got into bed beside her. As he was setting his communicator for his 2:00 a.m. wakeup, he felt movement on his left and heard a deep sigh.

Ilana slowly turned her head to her right, smiling sleepily up at him with half-lidded eyes. "Hey. What took you so long?"

Lance gave her a tender smile before bending over to kiss her gently on the lips. "Sorry. Everything took a lot longer than I thought it would."

Ilana gave a groggy nod. She pulled herself up, turned around to snuggle into his side, and wrapped her arms around his waist.

Lance responded in kind, pulling her towards him and wrapping his arms around her thin frame.

After a moment of silence, Ilana spoke. "So, what did my dad want? Was it about Mutrad?".

Lance 'Mmm'd' in confirmation as his left hand gently rubbed up and down her back. "Yeah. There's been a lot of activity around those two secret bases we shut down three years ago. You know, the ones where the Mega-beasts were being stored?"

Ilana nodded in reply. "Yup, I remember them. There were also huge weapons caches and manufacturing plants in them, if I remember correctly."

"Yup." Was Lance's only reply. They remained in silence for a few minutes, content to hold each other. Finally, though, Lance knew he had to tell her the more important aspect of that meeting. "Ilana..."

Curious by the sudden hesitancy in his tone, Ilana looked up at him. She could see sadness lingering in his eyes.

Now more worried than curious, she brought her left hand up to caress his cheek with her thumb. "What is it, Lance? What's wrong?"

Lance closed his eyes as he took a deep breath in and exhaled slowly, opening them once again to lock with hers. "Baron and I are taking ten other men with us to Mutrad to monitor the bases. We're splitting up into two recon teams to try and gather information on the spike in activity. Baron's taking the base by the forest, and I'll be stationed at the one in the mountains. We'll be there three weeks, if all goes well, and we don't run into any trouble."

Ilana moved her hand from his face to his head, running her fingers through his dark hair. "So, you'll be gone for three weeks. When are you heading out?"

Lance sighed before answering. "At three tomorrow morning. I'll need to be out of here by two."

Surprised, Ilana retracted her hand to rest it on his chest. "Oh! That was quick. Is my father really that concerned?"

Judging by the slightly worried look in Lance's own eyes, Ilana could tell he himself was more concerned than he was letting on. Lance gave her a small, melancholy smile, and kissed her forehead. "Think about it, Ilana. The locations of those bases have stayed top-secret for four years. Why is there suddenly a huge spike in activity around them, and what's causing it? Something about it doesn't sit right with me..."

Ilana could see his facial features tensing, feel his arms wrap more tightly around her. It took a lot to make Lance antsy, so she was now fairly worried. 'Calm down, Ilana.' She thought to herself, 'Everything will be fine. Right now, you've gotta calm him down.'

Ilana took a deep breath before she gently loosened Lance's grip around her waist, moving her body to face his, and bringing her arms up to loop around and up the back of his neck as her fingertips gently worked their way through his hair. She could feel and see him relax in her arms as she touched her forehead to his, keeping eye contact with him. "Just be careful, okay? Go do your job, and come back to me, safe and sound."

Lance smiled at her again, but this time it was filled with love and tenderness. He didn't respond. Instead, he closed both his eyes and the small gap between them, and gave her a long, meaningful kiss.

Ilana hummed in satisfaction before pulling away, her eyes full of love and warmth for the man in front of her.

Lance gave her a tender smile, before she saw something flash through his eyes, and a devilish smirk appeared in its place.

Ilana cocked an eyebrow at him. "What's that face for?" she asked curiously.

Lance chuckled low in his throat. "There's a story I need to tell you. You okay to stay up a little longer?"

Curiosity now peaked, Ilana gave an enthusiastic nod, prompting him to continue.

Lance chuckled again before continuing. "Alright, then. Baron and I had spent a good three or so hours going over troop selections and overall strategy for the trip after your dad had to leave the meeting. When we'd finished, he left to go find our selections and inform them to be ready to mobilize soon, while I went to give the final report to your dad. After I'd briefed the king on all the details, and he'd given me the mobilization time, I went to find Baron to let him know. Well, I couldn't find him anywhere. I walked around the entire compound. It took me hours. That's part of the reason why I was so late getting back."

Lance paused as Ilana nodded, now understanding his uncharacteristically late arrival.

"Well," Lance continued, "You wanna know where I found him?"

At this point, Ilana was dying to know where he was going with this. She silently urged him to continue.

Lance smirked once again. "I found him in his barracks...in the company, or should I say the arms, of First Lieutenant Sarah Byers. You know, the redhead with a short temper and scarily accurate aim with a sniper rifle? Your father has high hopes for her career as a sniper specialist."

Ilana's eyes widened as her mouth fell open. "Oh... my... No. Way! That man is actually capable of feeling something other than disdain for people?!"

Lance couldn't help but laugh at everything, from Ilana's reaction to the situation as a whole. He laughed, and laughed, until he started wheezing. Ilana scoffed at him, which only made him laugh harder.

When he'd finally calmed down, he started speaking again. "Yeah. Let's just say I walked in on something I never needed to see. I got a shoe thrown at my head, and Baron nailed me in the stomach. Can't say as I blame him. I probably would've done the same thing if the roles were reversed."

This time, it was Ilana bent over in fits of laughter. "I – Can't – Believe it!" she managed to gasp out. "I'll never be able to look at him seriously again!"

Lance smiled at her, waiting for her to calm down before finishing his story.

After a couple of minutes of Ilana trying – and failing – to reign in her laughter, she finally managed to mellow enough to tell him to continue.

With a nod, Lance kept going. "Well, obviously I apologized about intruding on his personal time, so to speak. He was angry, but after I explained why I was there, he seemed to calm down a little." At this point, Lance sobered.

Ilana saw the shift in his mood, and tamed her own amusement.

Looking into her eyes, Lance continued. "When I looked in his eyes Ilana, all I could see was fear. He was terrified that I'd say something to the king."

Ilana gave him a confused look, and Lance elaborated. "Military code of conduct. No relations between coworkers whatsoever. If you're caught, it's an immediate dishonorable discharge for both parties. Their careers, and lives, would effectively be over if I decided to tell someone."

He saw realization dawn on her as her facial expression turned from confused to sympathetic. Her eyes softened as she reached forward and took his hand in hers, intertwining their fingers. "They're like us...aren't they?"

Lance gave a small nod, running his thumb over the top of her hand. "Exactly. I told him that if he really cared about her, I wouldn't say anything. That if he loved her, I could sympathize with their situation."

Ilana gave a nod, waiting for him to continue. When he didn't, she searched his face, already realizing where this was going.

Finally, she decided to speak. "He picked up on that, didn't he?"

Lance flinched as his eyes snapped to hers, guilt in his dark pools. "Yeah, I think he did. He wants to talk more on our way to Mutrad. Ilana...". At this point, Lance held both of Ilana's hands in his. "Do I have your permission to talk to him about this? About us?"

Ilana searched his eyes carefully. She knew that this was a potentially very dangerous situation. She trusted Lance, but she did NOT trust Baron in the slightest. So, instead of answering, she asked a question of her own. "Do you think it's safe to?"

Lance was quiet for a moment, carefully considering her question; sorting through everything in his head. There were so many variables, but no matter how he looked at the situation, he kept coming back to one answer.

Finally, he spoke. "I think so. Yes, it's risky, but he has just as much to lose as we do if anyone says anything. Besides,". At this point, a small smile had crept its way onto his face. "You were the one who wanted us to mend our fences. This might just be that opportunity. Something's changed in him, Ilana. I can't explain it, but I see it."

Ilana was quiet for a moment, sorting through all the possible scenarios in her mind. There was so much at stake; so much to lose if things went badly. Finally, she decided to ask one more question before she gave her answer. "Can you trust him?"

The question was a loaded one, and she knew it. She knew that there were few people whom Lance thought well of, even fewer that he cared for, and even fewer than that whom he trusted. She believed in his judgement, and put a lot of stock in it. If he tells her that he thinks they can trust Baron, then she'll agree.

Lance looked deep into her eyes. He knew how much store Ilana set by his judgement, and didn't want to give her the wrong answer. Could he trust Baron? Due to his past, trusting was hard for him. It took an enormous amount of effort, or a truly selfless act on someone else's part to convince him to give them his loyalty. He could count on one hand the number of people that he fully trusted; Ilana being one of them.

He re-ran every encounter he'd ever had with Baron in his mind. If they were still kids, and in the academy, the answer would definitely be no. Since their return, however, he'd noticed that, while Baron was still hostile toward him, it was more subtle; more discreet. He hadn't attempted to publicly shame or embarrass him at all, and their verbal duels no longer strayed into anything too personal. Not only that, they worked well together on the battlefield. No matter what, they instinctively had each other's back, and protected each other when needed without any prompting, or even conscious thought.

Even if Lance didn't want to admit it, they were actually somewhat similar: stubborn, driven, determined, fierce, narrow-minded at times, protective, loyal, hard-working, and neither of them really grew up with any real friends. Baron had lackies that followed him around because they were afraid of him, and he himself didn't have anyone growing up. They were both starved of love and attention. The only real difference was that Baron had a family...with money; money, but no time or attention to give to their son.

He didn't have a family at all after his dad disappeared.

It was no wonder why Baron, like himself, had so many issues. The more he thought about it, the more he could see Baron trying to mend their relationship over the years. Even if they still exchanged verbal daggers, Baron gave him a compliment whenever he was recognized for some heroic action or good deed, had offered to train with him when most of the other advanced fighters had been away cleaning up the remainders of the Mutraddi army while they had stayed on Galaluna to start repairing the palace and military branches, and even offered to help with guard duty after he'd been injured during their battle with Modula. He'd been ordered by Octus not to return to duty for at least three weeks to allow the stitches from his saber wound time to heal, so Baron had volunteered to be Ilana's bodyguard; even though he couldn't stand her, or she, him.

He remembered her telling him that she'd asked Baron during his second week as her bodyguard why he volunteered to help in Lance's stead. His only reply was 'Because I owe him, and I don't like owing people.'. After that, Baron had shut down the conversation, and the subject was never brought back up.

Suddenly it hit Lance like a ton of bricks. 'He's been trying to apologize all these years without actually saying sorry. He doesn't know how to.'

He must've been quiet for too long, because Ilana squeezed his hands, bringing him back to reality. "Lance, are you okay?"

He blinked once, then twice, before smiling reassuringly at her. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just had a bit of an epiphany is all. To answer your question: yes, I think we can trust him."

That took Ilana by surprise, but once she saw the look in Lance's eyes, she felt reassured somehow. She smiled, leaning forward and kissing him on the tip of his nose. "Okay then. You have my permission."

Lance nodded before pulling lightly on her arms, and guiding her into his lap. She snuggled into him, and they both settled back into the mattress and pile of pillows on Ilana's bed.

All was quiet for a while, before Ilana heard Lance whisper in her ear, "Are you absolutely sure? I wanna make sure you're comfortable with this."

Ilana shifted just enough to look up at him, giving him one of her most comforting smiles. "I trust you, Lance. If you think he can be trusted, then that's good enough for me."

Lance sighed softly, his eyes closed and facial features contemplative. "I know you do, but I've been wrong before. I don't want to put you in danger."

Ilana slowly moved one of her hands to gently rub up and down his arm, trying to sooth him as best she could. "I know. You're forgetting something, though. You know Baron way better than I do. If you've got a good enough feeling about this, then I'm not concerned. Don't second-guess yourself, babe. Just trust it."

Ilana could feel the vibrations on Lance's chest from his muffled laughter.

"Hmm", he hummed. "Alright. I'll stop running around in circles, then."

Ilana sighed in contentment, closing her eyes and finally starting to succumb to sleep; wrapped up in strong arms that made her feel safe and wanted. "Good." She whispered, "Now go to sleep. You've got an early morning ahead of you."

She felt Lance kiss the top of her head before they both slowly drifted off into a peaceful slumber.