DISCLAMIER:

I do not own Sym-Bionic Titan. If I did, it wouldn't have been cancelled due to lack of merchandise.

Hi again! So, I know this one is kind of long, but it's leading up to the next one, in which a HUMONGOUS secret is revealed! It's going to be totally epic! Anyway, thanks for reading, review, and let me know about any grammatical errors. Major reason this chapter is up so quickly? I got my first review- big thanks purpledragon6. Oh, and the question is: I like (blank) for breakfast, and she answered 'toast'. It'll all make sense shortly… now read! :)

Chapter 2

The car pulled into the dimly lit garage, and Lance put it in park. Taking out the keys, he got out and opened the door for Ilana. "Thank you", she said as she got out, smiling. Lance popped the trunk (which was deceivingly large for its size) and started hauling out shopping bags. One after another, from all kinds of stores: Macy's, Nordstrom's, Gap, Forever 21, Wet Seal, and, of course, Aldo's. Lance was lucky that the shoe escapade had ended their journey, because the mall wouldn't have closed for another two and a half hours and there was NO WAY that Lance wanted to spend any more time in that place than he needed to. It was hazardous- with so many bodies in such a small place, and the noise an almost deafening roar (don't even get him started on what is was like during the Macy's one-day sale), the place was definitely a safety concern. With more and more Mutradi attacks as of late, and especially the whole nightmare where Octus had almost left them forever (he shuddered just thinking about it), Lance's feeling of responsibility for the princess's safety was steadily increasing. How odd, he thought. I don't really think of her as the princess of Galaluna as much as I think of her as… well, Ilana. Lance stopped. His thoughts were treading on dangerous territory.

They walked into the house and Lance helped Ilana take the shoes up to her room. Even with Lance carrying the majority of the load, Ilana was still panting by the time they reached the top. Lance smirked, but was careful not to let Ilana see. Earth was softening her up.

He placed the bags on her bed. "I don't know where you're going to find the time to wear all this stuff", he muttered. Ilana giggled politely, hand over her mouth, and responded: "Well, I don't know about you, but I tend to wear clothes."

Lance shook his head. "But the styles on Earth are so…so…atrocious. They look terrible." He noticed Ilana look down slightly, and tried to recover. "Not on you, though; they look great!" He sounded like such a fool, even to himself. "Or whatever", he mumbled.

Ilana, however, obviously appreciated the compliment. Her eyes sparkled, and her freckles seemed to dance. "Really?" She was looking at him just like he was looking at her- eyes soft, a light flush on the cheeks. She was so excited, so…pretty.

WAIT. NO.

Lance nonchalantly rolled his eyes. "Well, of course, princess." Ilana showed a small smile, and then followed him in his retreat downstairs and out of her bedroom.

Octus was vacuuming at the foot of the steps in the disguise as Mr. Lunis (the windows were open). As he looked up to greet them, a concerned frown crossed his face. "Rift gate just open?" asked Lance, slightly annoyed. It was dinnertime. He could imagine what Ilana must have been thinking: these Mutradi have terrible manners- didn't they know never to interrupt dinner?

Octus continued frowning. "No, not that I know of. But did you run into the Mutradi or something at the mall?"

Lance frowned, too. "No…why?"

Octus moved out of view of the windows and transformed to his regular robot form. He scanned them as he spoke. "According to my readings, both of your heart rates are extremely elevated."

Oh god, Octus. Really? Really?! Lance's face flushed a deep red. He didn't dare glance at Ilana, but if he had, he would have seen her looking at her feet, just as red and just as embarrassed.

Lance cleared his throat. "I'm going to go work out", he mumbled, and climbed back up the stairs. He needed to relieve some stress.

Ilana walked into the kitchen, and a wonderful aroma wafted towards her. "It smells delicious!" exclaimed Ilana. She walked over to the stove, where Octus was stirring…what was that? "Um, Octus?"

"Yes, princess?"

"What is that?"

"It is called broccoli and cheese soup. Supposedly these people like it very much." Ilana looked skeptically at the orange and green mixture. But Octus is a great cook, she thought. Unless the recipe he finds is faulty.

Relieved to see he was using a cookbook, she sat down at the kitchen table and began to do her Spanish homework. Me gusta para el desayuno. She thought before filling in the blank with 'el pan tostado'.

Lance walked into the room, a thin sheen of sweat covering his body from his workout. And he stunk.

"Pee-yew, Lance!" Ilana complained lightly. "Please go take a shower, you kind of-" She stopped, realizing she was being rude.

"Stink?" Lance finished for her. He rolled his eyes, but she thought she could detect an almost non-existent (and it might have just been that) blush at the tips of his ears. "Yeah, that happens after people exercise." Lance, flushing? thought Ilana. He has been acting pretty strange lately; I hope he's not getting sick…

"Oh, by the way, there's something you guys should know." Ilana and Lance both turned to Octus, as he turned around and shifted… uncomfortably? Can a robot feel uncomfortable? "I…might have invited someone over to dinner tonight."

Ilana blinked. Well, that certainly explained why he was cooking so much stew. She looked over at Lance, who was looking slightly exasperated. "You didn't."

The doorbell rang.

Octus went to get the door, transforming into Newton. Lance sighed. "That'll be Kimmy." His face scrunched up, and he looked down at his sweat-soaked T-shirt. "Jeez, I do stink." He sighed and looked at Ilana. Tell Octu- Newton that I'll be down in a sec, I'm going to go take a quick rinse." He went through the back door from the kitchen so Kimmy wouldn't see him climbing the steps. A small smile crossed Ilana's face. So, he does care…

Ilana went out to greet their guest.

The two Galalunian teenagers looked cautiously at their plates, then at each other. The message between them was obvious, even to Kimmy. She laughed. "What, haven't you guys ever eaten Newton's cooking before? It's delicious."

She herself dove right in, swallowed, and smiled. "See? Nothing to be afraid of. It's great."

"It's not his cooking we're worried about, it's the dish." Lance was still looking warily at his bowl. His shower had left him smelling like aftershave, and she found that surprisingly…sexy. The thought surprised her. Lance, sexy? But he was so… Lance.

Kimmy rolled her eyes good-naturedly. She sure had changed since they last saw her, before the whole ordeal with Octus'…deactivation. "You guys haven't ever had broccoli and cheese soup? You guys are hardly American."

They all tensed as her words sent a silent shock through them. Kimmy frowned, then laughed. "So, that's your big secret. You guys aren't American."

The reaction was instant. Newton put apart a separate part of his brain (processor?) to analyze Kimmy's heartbeat and determine whether Kimmy was serious or not. Lance's reaction, however, was slightly more obvious. His face turned from his soup to Kimmy. He shifted his chair out so he could move quickly if necessary, and positioned his body to protect Ilana without ever leaving his seat. Ilana found herself as a combination of the both of them. While analyzing Kimmy's reaction, she shifted toward Lance. This surprised her slightly. Why? Lance was, after all, her protector- in more ways than one…

Kimmy noticed the siblings, and this troubled her. They were, after all, siblings- she could understand why Lance would want to protect Ilana, under normal circumstances. She might not have understood what she said to make them react like that- lots of people had foreign ethnicity nowadays- but she knew love when she saw it. She knew the stages. And she knew that, despite the fact that they were related, they were in love (or at least getting there). She noticed how his protective stance was different from that of a regular brother- he wasn't just protecting someone he cared about, he was protecting someone he cared about. And the way she looked at him- she adored him. She looked up to him (and not just because he was taller than her). They reacted around each other to the simplest of things; she wondered if they realized that.

Kimmy looked at them skeptically. "Sheesh, guys, calm down. There's nothing wrong with coming from another country; it's not like I called you aliens or something."

Despite the 'alien' comment, the three seemed to understand she was just kidding. Newton's analysis also confirmed this, so they settled back into (what seemed like) a relaxed dinner.

Kimmy hesitated, about to ask a question. Ilana dreaded what might be coming next. Her boyfriend had, after all, mysteriously disappeared with the two of them and then just popped back- that was nothing if not strange. The question, however, never came- Kimmy seemed to think better of it and instead tried to persuade Lance to try the soup.

Despite her careless façade, Kimmy wasn't the only one with thoughts on her mind- while the aliens were recovering from the scare she had unknowingly given them, she was flashing back to her reunion with Newton…

She was reading a magazine when he came back to her.

The doorbell rang. Kimmy, slightly annoyed (she was almost at the shoe section of her fashion magazine), put down the latest styles and went to get it.

She opened the door, and there he was.

The reunion that followed was as expected- the crying, the hugging, the demanding where he had been, and the kissing. Oh, yes, the kissing. She hadn't realized how much she had missed it until the first one came, electric as usual. That tingly sensation in her body flowed through her once more, and she realized just how worried she had been in that moment. She broke away and sobbed into his shoulder as he comforted her. He was getting better at these things, she realized. He's not as mechanical, more touchy-feely.

And how she wanted the touchy-feely.

She wasn't willing to risk it, though- he was back and that was all that mattered. Well, almost.

"Where have you been?" she demanded after she was done with the crying. His face, for once, betrayed his emotions. He was… sad. "I can't tell you. I'm sorry", he murmured, and for once he believed that he meant it. He was sorry. "There are some things that are beyond my control, that are not my secrets to tell." He looked at her pleadingly. "Please try to understand."

She looked at him for a long time, studying him. And that's when she realized that it didn't matter. She loved him regardless. And he loved her, too- she could see it in his eyes.

She sighed. "I believe you, and I forgive you. I guess I just want to make this work without you having to run off to the 'bathroom' every five minutes. I guess I'm just jealous that you spend more time with Lance and Ilana than with your own girlfriend." The last sentence surprised her- she had never admitted anything so deep to herself, much less to a boy.

Newton's face softened. "They are my family", was all he said. She smiled. "I know."

At that moment it was understood that they were back together, and this time for the win…

"Bye, honey", said Newton, and she realized that they were at the door. She smiled. He had taken to calling her nicknames like a normal couple; pumpkin, sugar, honey. She knew, though- they were anything but normal.

She leaned up, and he noticed. Anticipating her, he leaned down, and their lips met.

And what a kiss. The electricity they typically shared in a kiss was stronger this time, with more emotion. Kimmy found that she couldn't break away, and she felt his sturdy hand on her back… and where it was going.

Ilana saw it, too.

For lack of a better response, she interrupted them. "Um, Newton, could you help us clean up the kitchen?"

He broke away right as his hand neared Kimmy's lower waist. The couple shared a blush, bid each other good night, and left. Newton turned to her, slightly… annoyed? "I'm sorry, what?" he asked.

She cleared her throat, and decided his battery was probably low and needed to recharge, that's why his decision making was so… wacky. "Why don't you go charge? You have to have a low battery." He frowned but did as she suggested, climbing the stairs and shutting his door.

And Lance broke out in laughter behind her.

She jumped, startled; she hadn't been aware of his presence. He was rolling on the floor in laughter, and despite the fact that it was a rather serious issue, she couldn't manage to keep a straight face- a smile crept on to it, and she found herself giggling as well.

Once they were done laughing, she found that Lance was worried, too.

"Um…" She looked at him, but he couldn't seem to continue. For some reason the tips of his ears and his cheeks were the color of a light pink rose. "Yes?" she asked. He looked at her.

"Octus' relationship with Kimmy, it…worries me." He frowned into the pot he was scrubbing. "I feel the same way", she responded. "I mean, of course he should be happy, but he seems to be becoming more and more human. I'm not sure if his program is adapting to camouflage more like a human with real emotions, or if we and Kimmy are just seeing what we think is there."

Lance nodded. "I know what you mean. And if he is becoming more like a human, does that make the programs that make him a robot in danger of being lost?" Ilana shrugged.

"And his relationship with Kimmy." He cleared his throat and started flushing once more. He didn't go on, and Ilana pressured him slightly. "Yes?"

It all came out in a rush. "Well-you-know-that-he's-the-guy-in-the-relationship-and-while-what-we-saw-today-at-the-door-was-hilarious", he took a quick break, getting pinker and pinker. "Well-I-think-we-should-let-him-know-about-his-" Lance searched for the right word. "responsibilities-as-a-teenage-boy-in-a-relationship." Ilana blinked at him. Was he saying… "You want to have the sex talk with a robot."

Lance was beet red now. He scrubbed the pan harder, wishing he could take back what he said. Really, he was talking about the 'sex talk' with a princess…ugh, man, he was such an idiot.

Ilana chuckled. "Realistically, Lance, he is a robot. I'm sure he can access those responsibilities on the internet, or whatever. And, personally, I'll be honest: I'm not exactly looking forward to that conversation."

Lance looked at her, relieved she didn't tease him about his suggestion. But then, she never did- she was always kind and caring, beautiful and- Lance mentally scolded himself again, but he was beginning to think it wasn't working. He had to stop thinking of her like that.

Lance frowned once more. "Despite all that, though, I'm worried about Kimmy. I think she really loves him…Is it fair for Newton to get involved in a relationship to which he may not be able to give Kimmy what she deserves?"

Now, this surprised Ilana. Greatly. She had never known Lance to speculate like this, especially not to her. She smiled. "We'll have to see how it goes, I suppose. Both of them want it." She poked him as they put away the last of the dishes. "Maybe, on the inside, you are a soft teddy bear after all."

There was a semi-awkward silence, both reflecting upon the events in Aldo earlier in the day.

That's when their lives changed forever.

Octus came into the room in his robot form. Both looked up at him, startled and embarrassed, wondering how much he had heard. Lance was the one to ask: "How long were you there?"

"I just came downstairs now", responded Octus. "We have an emergency."

They both stiffened. They knew what was coming next. Or, at least, they thought they did.

But they had no idea.

"The rift gate has opened", explained Octus. Lance and Ilana looked at each other, tired of the Mutradi intruding quiet evenings.

"There is a twist, though", said the robot. That got their attention. "Due to some recent updating, my programs have been highly enhanced. I am now able to detect the exact forms of life from any life form exiting the rift gate on this side, whether it be monster or humanoid."

"Well?" asked Lance. "What monster did the Mutradi send this time?"

"That's just it", Octus explained. "I have been able to determine that all of the previous monsters the Mutradi have sent to destroy us have originated from a certain point on Mutrad. They must have been able to hook up the signal to open the rift gate from a palace there, because nothing has been sent from Galaluna." Ilana choked a little upon hearing the name of her planet.

Octus continued. "This life form isn't a monster."

Lance and Ilana looked at him, dumbfounded.

"It's humanoid", said Octus.

They kept staring, not believing the next statement, because Octus wasn't done speaking yet. And with the information he had just given them, that could only mean…

Octus finished their thoughts for them.

"The humanoid is Galalunian."

Ta-da! So, what do you think?! This is the intro to the next couple of chapters- it gets really crazy from there! When Kimmy and Octus kissed, it was electric. Get it?! Because he's a robot! (slaps knee). Haha, yeah, well… I know this is a cliffhanger, so I'll try to update faster, but like I said, finals week…ugh. What will happen next? Fufufufu….