Chapter 2

It had been a just a few days since the space station had been destroyed, but the school schedule had gone on uninterrupted. As the group filed out of Octus' van (Octus had driven the car in his Mr. Lunis hologram but had placed a Newton hologram in the back, which he would make disappear upon arrival so he could "become" Newton), Ilana turned to look at Lance.

"Are you okay?" she asked softly. Lance smiled at her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I told you, Arthur didn't die in vain."

"I know. But Octus said you might…realize what happened with Arthur…that he died."

"I already know that. I'm at peace with it," Lance reassured her as they walked off to school. As he left her Octus sidled up to her.

"His brain is stable, and so are his emotions. I'm beginning to conclude that a relapse into a more conventional state of grief is unlikely for Lance," Octus told Ilana.

"It just doesn't make much sense to me, though. Maybe I would understand if I went through what he did…not that I want to."

"Perhaps. I sense something is troubling you, Ilana. You are afraid of an inevitable confrontation." Ilana knew Octus was looking into her mind. She didn't want him figuring out that her starbecue class had been the ones to upload the map into him back when they needed it on the space station.

"It's nothing. I'm just…nervous about seeing Jason again," she told him.

"I believe I already know what happened," Octus replied. Ilana gasped.

"You know?! Knew?! About Jason?! Oh, Octus, I'm so, so, sorry I told somebody! I promise I didn't say everything!"

"Do not worry. This was inevitable as we each came to have our own groups of friends on Earth. In fact, I have already told Kimmy—partially at least. I explained that we control Titan remotely from home—to explain all the times 'had to use the bathroom.'"

"Oh. I told him that we transform into the robots and combine to make Titan…but I didn't say anything about Galaluna or Modula or the coup!"

"It is good that you did not reveal everything, but there is a problem; our stories contradict each other in terms of how we control the robots."

"You're right. What do we do?"

"The solution is simple; if Kimmy meets up with Jason and they discuss these things, then I will simply explain that we have since modified Titan so that we now pilot it directly."

"Ok! That's the story we're going with, then?"

"Yes. But it is not a 'story' so much as it is the truth with some information being partially withheld."

The two then stopped talking and caught up to Lance.

"What were you guys talking about?"

"Octus was just giving me some tips on some homework. I wasn't able to finish it last night so now I have to finish it during study hall and see if I can get done there," Ilana explained. Lance rolled his eyes at her and stifled a grin.

"You really need to stop worrying about stupid things like school. It doesn't amount to anything, you know." Ilana was about to protest and explain that it did amount to something when Octus reminded her:

"It is imperative that Lance is not made aware of what we have revealed and who we have revealed it to. He may not be so receptive of the idea of even a few people knowing just a fraction of our secret."

"I know! Now let's stop talking about it!" And so the two broke off and avoided Lance, practically scurrying to class. Lance, however, met with Kristen by his locker, immediately greeting her with a kiss.

"Thank goodness you're still here. Everybody else is just…going crazy," he told her.

"How so? What did they do to make you crazy?" Kristen asked.

"They're worried about me. A friend of mine from a long time ago died. They think I'm going to be all upset or something, but I'm not."

"Well, just don't freak out on them and then they'll quit worryin'. Who was this friend?"

"You never knew him. Explaining him and how he died would be…difficult," Lance told her, thinking back to when Arthur died. He decided not to dwell on that too much and focus his mind on reality and the girl in front of him.

Later after class, Ilana encountered Jason in the hallways. To her relief, Mark and Gregory were not with him. When Jason saw her, he stared at her almost blankly.

"Jason…well, now you know." Ilana couldn't think of anything to say to him. What could she say to someone who could barely take all of this in? Jason took a deep breath—he too was unsure what to say—and tried to just let the words say themselves.

"I wish you had told all of this to me sooner. Believe me, I would have understood. Well, maybe not completely, but I would have done whatever I could to help you adjust to Earth life. You didn't have to go through this alone. And the fact that you and your whole 'family' has to go out and fight those aliens…that worries me. I don't want you to die! So if there's ANYTHING I can do to help you in this, just let me know."

"Jason, you have every right to be worried. But you can understand why I wanted to keep things a secret, right?"

"I guess so. I just wish you had told somone, like me. Were you ever planning on doing that?"

"Yes, sort of. After what you saw at our date, I knew I couldn't hide things anymore. I had written out that email and sent to you guys when I needed it, figuring that if I needed some outside help you and your classmates would be quite useful for that." Jason wanted to ask how Ilana was able to send this email when she was on the moon, but he decided it wasn't worth asking.

"Believe me, Jason," Ilana went on, "I wish I was just an ordinary girl with no secrets and didn't have to tell you anything. But my only two choices were to put myself in danger or protect myself for as long as I could."

"What do you mean, 'protect yourself'? From the aliens? Why are you so obsessed with protecting yourself from them?…Is there something you're not telling me?"

"I'm telling it to you now. I don't want the others to know, and if Lance and Octus knew I told you I don't know what they'd think. But I don't want to hide things from you anymore. You deserve the truth for having put up with me so much."

"Wait, let's go somewhere private," Jason suggested. So the two went into the gym, knowing that it would be safe for them to talk there. And so Ilana proceeded to tell her story, from beginning to end, about her life on Galaluna, the coup, and how and why she ended up here with Lance. She even divulged what she could about G3, but made she not to linger on the subject of Lance's father for too long. She also reminded him not to spread this information to anyone, not even the other starbecue kids. Predictably, Jason had many questions, but instead of avoiding them or not answering, Ilana was open and honest, willing to answer any question from what Galaluna was like to why and how Octus was actually a robot but also 2 people. When she was done, she asked Jason what he thought of everything.

"I want to say I'm shocked and surprised, but after everything that happened earlier, I'm not really surprised at all. It all makes perfect sense. Well, most of it, but all the questions I have are ones you said you didn't know the answer too. Like, how did this Modula guy turn evil right under your noses? And why are the Mutradi blindly following this man? And…what would your father think about me dating you?" Ilana laughed.

"I'd think he'd fine you a fine young man," she reassured him. Just then her watch beeped. It was Lance.

"Ilana, Octus found another Mutradi heading for Lake Sherman. This time it came the old fashioned way. Meet up with us out in the parking lot."

"Looks like you have to go," Jason remarked.

"Yeah. See you later," Ilana said, waving goodbye as she left the gym. "And I just want you to know…none of this affected the way I felt about you."

"Thanks. I'll try not to let it do that to me, either," Jason replied, leaving in the opposite direction. When Jason left the gym he was greeted by an eager Mark and Gregory.

"So, did she tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"About what it's like to be part robot?!"

"About the intricacies of her wristwatch and how it activates her robot body?!" Jason sighed.

"I don't think she knows how it works, she didn't invent it," he explained. That information wasn't too dangerous to leak, was it?

"Can you believe she was the robot the whole time? I never would have guessed!" Mark exclaimed.

"I know, right? I can't wait to tell Devon and prove him wrong!" Gregory added.

"Ok, guys, that's great. But she's not invincible, you know? She and the others are just regular people, deep down. They're not perfect or worthy of your undivided worship. If you see Ilana, just…treat her like a human being. And above all respect her privacy and keep the secrets she told us."

"We can do that! It's not like we have anyone to tell, anyway," Mark told him.

"Yeah. Say, who do you think is hotter; robot Ilana or human Ilana?" Gregory asked the boys.

"Human!" Mark blurted out.

"Robot!" Gregory cried. The two stared at each other as if the other was some sort of strange alien. Jason left the two of them alone to have their petty debate over the issue. Maribel saw Jason and asked, "How are you taking all this?" she could tell he was thinking of Ilana.

"I don't know. She feels relieved that all that weight is off her chest, but now she's put it all on me. I don't quite know how to react to it. Why couldn't she be more like you?"

"Like me? How so?"

"Just an ordinary girl. I think that's what she wants, deep down. But she'll never get it."