DISCLAIMER:

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

Hey, so I know that the last chapter was kind of depressing. Sorry about that, but it was necessary for the backstory to be in it for future chapters. I plan this chapter to be happier, considering she's now conscious. Ugh, I can't believe the 49ers lost by 3 points… and what about that blackout, huh? Eh, never mind… anyway, as always, REVIEW. Please. Enjoy, and have a good day .

Chapter 6

Lance spun to face his sister.

She was sitting upright on the couch, smiling at him. His heart skipped a beat. It had been so long since he had seen that smile, ten years now. She had so much of their mother of her. That warm, loving smile, with those light blue eyes that always made him feel like a schoolboy again, a boyish grin spreading across his face as the tears of joy finally came.

Their eyes locked, and suddenly she was back in his life again, and the tears flowed harder, his vision blurring. His little sister, he loved her so much… She was truly more than he deserved, but now that he had her back, there was no way he was going to let her go.

He fell to the ground on his knees in front of Amy and embraced her, careful about her wound. They wrapped their arms around each other, taking comfort in each other's presence, and suddenly they were back in their rooms again, crying into each other. Except, of course, these were tears of joy, and no one had been lost- only a person found…and they weren't alone.

Amy's eyes widened when she saw Ilana. Immediately she was on one knee, her head bowed. "Princess, it is an honor", she said.

Ilana looked at her in surprise. It had been a while since anyone had greeted her in this way, and it no longer felt correct. She blushed and said, "Oh, no, please rise. I am not a princess here on Earth. I am simply Ilana."

Amy looked up at Ilana with respect and reverence. "You shall always be my princess…Ilana". Amy tried to rise as she had been instructed but winced and looked down. She caught sight of the blood soaking through her bandages. "What the hell…?" she muttered, and her eyes became cloudy.

Lance steadied her, his eyes once again worried. "Please don't overexert yourself, Amy. The only reason you aren't in extreme pain right now is that Octus gave you some pain-killing drugs." And, as if on cue, Octus came rushing down the steps as Lance helped his sister lay back down on the sofa.

"Hey, guys, her vitals are returning to norma-" Octus cut off as soon as he saw that they already knew. He walked over to her side. "Hello, Amy."

"Hello, Octus", Amy said calmly to the transparent robot standing before her. She frowned and looked down at Lance, who had started pulling up the bottom of his shirt. "What the hell, Lance?" She looked at him with a mixture of amusement, disturbance, and confusion…but mostly disturbance.

Lance flushed slightly and replied, "Your bandages need changing…" Amy looked at him, the amusement growing. "I think I can handle tha-" Her eyes widened as she looked down and saw what the bandages had been hiding. A hole straight through her abdomen, and blood streaming out.

Lance looked at her, concerned. I hope she doesn't puke, he thought. Back when they were children, she had been the most squeamish little thing… but apparently not anymore. Her eyes returned to their normal size, and she looked calmly at the gap in her flesh. "Oh, right. That."

Lance continued changing her bandages, despite the slight look of annoyance that crossed his sister's face when she was told only to hold the roll of gauze. Soon he was done, and he stood back up as she slowly sat up once again on the couch. He tried to protest, but she gave him a look that said don't be stupid, and he shut up.

They were all silent for a moment. Okay, she was awake. Now what?

Amy was the one to break the silence. She looked at Octus and said, "Could you please register me at Sherman High? Might as well say I'm another sister of Lance and Ilana's. Put down that I moved from China from studying abroad, since I'm fluent in Chinese. You can just fabricate the transfer papers. Monday's a school day, and there's no way I'm staying at home."

Lance and Ilana gaped at her, and Octus didn't reply. "How do you know Octus' name? And how do you know about Sherman High? Exactly how much do you know?" asked Ilana, addressing Amy with a look of complete bewilderment. And, after a short pause: "And why do you know Chinese?"

Amy chuckled and looked at the group. "I know Chinese because, as soon as I learned I was coming to Earth, I looked up the population. China has the highest population on Earth, so I figured the majority of people would speak Chinese. I learned some others too, but Galaluna already speaks Galalunian (which the people here call English). I know about Sherman high because that was the school in which people your age go to in Sherman, and Sherman was the closest town to the coordinates of where your pod reported landing. I know a lot about Earth. I had a lot of time to study, unlike you guys, who were dropped here last-second. That, and he was in the information regarding you guys in that pod I caught on my way here, as well as you two."

They continued gaping at her as Octus fabricated the transfer papers for Sherman. Lance looked at her with amazed eyes. "Wait a second- you knew you were coming here? What exactly happened, anyway? You just mysteriously showed up with a Mutraddi following you." Lance winced slightly when he recalled the disastrous results of that particular battle.

Amy frowned slightly. "Yeah, that Mutraddi number 1,076 was a real pain in the ass." Amy looked over at Ilana apologetically. "I apologize, princess, but I tend to have foul language when I'm extremely tired. I can't seem to help it, though I try. Anyway", Amy continued, "As you can probably guess, it followed me through the rift gate from Galaluna. Sort of."

"Sort of?" They looked at her skeptically. Amy sighed. "Well, it's a long story, but I suppose I'll have to tell it at some time, anyway. If I pass out, just slap me. I should wake back up."

Octus settled down in the armchair, and Ilana and Lance both sat down next to her on the couch. They seemed to sense the story was a lengthy one, and so it was.

However, there was something that needed to be cleared up first.

Amy looked at them. "Before I get into this, you should know who exactly who invaded Galaluna." They blinked, and realized that they really didn't know. Amy looked at Lance with slight concern as she told them- this would be hard on him. Lance, not one to be kept waiting, looked at her impatiently. He wanted to know who he had to blame for this. Ilana was especially antsy, looking for a name to the person who had disrupted her life in such a violent way. Octus remained silent. "Well?"

She took a deep breath. "Modula."

That one word showed its effect on Lance's face. Bewildered, he said: "But that's impossible! He died on Mutrad!"

Amy shook her head sadly. "That's what everyone thought. Obviously, though, he didn't, and he's back for revenge with a new ability to control the Mutraddi."

Lance was furious. Amy had been afraid of this. "That bastard! The son of a bitch! I looked up to him! He was my hero-!" Lance stopped when he saw Ilana's terrified face. He took her hand. "Ilana, what's the matter?"

Amy answered for the petrified princess. "The first person Modula would have gone after upon his return would have been the King. He had been the leader on that disastrous mission, and so in 'deserting' Modula, would be the main target." Amy looked at Ilana reassuringly and took her other hand. "Don't worry, princess. Your father lives on. He had been captured for a period of time, and during that time was pressed for information. Regardless, a rescue mission had been led by the General and both he and the palace were liberated."

Ilana's happiness was plain on her face, and tears of relief spilled over. "General? You mean Collins? He was always an excellent soldier."

"Um, well, no", replied Amy sadly. "Unfortunately, he was killed earlier on in the war."

Ilana looked at her with confusion. "Then, who?"

Amy was clearly uncomfortable. "It isn't really relevant."

Ilana was now suspicious. "Why not? I am the princess. Please tell me." It was not a direct order, but it was obviously meant to act as one- the only difference was that she had said 'please'.

Amy sighed. Finally, she answered the question. "I suppose that would be me."

This threw them all off. Of course, Lance was an excellent soldier, and it was no surprise that it ran in their blood. But this was a first. For many, many reasons.

The young girl read this on their faces. "Many traditions change in the face of war," she said quietly. "Women are found just as capable as men, and age is ignored in place of skill."

This they could believe, though it would take a while to fully wrap their heads around the idea that this fourteen-year old girl sitting in front of them was basically in charge of the entire Galalunian Royal Guard (along with the King, of course). This irked Lance slightly. No matter how much he loved her, it still stung slightly that his younger sister was of a higher military rank than he was. I guess I answer to her now, he thought.

He snorted with laughter, and Ilana looked at him as if he had gone insane. Considering recent events, it's not a far stretch, he realized. He looked at Ilana, and explained: "I just compared Amy to Steel."

Ilana giggled, too, and even Octus made a sound that might have been laughter. They all gave Amy a look that said, one day you'll understand, and then wish you hadn't.

Amy shook it off. "Oh, by the way, Lance, the King said that once you get back, seeing as Earth hadn't made you…flabby *chuckle*, there was a good chance you would receive a promotion."

This perked him up. "To?"

Amy smiled. "Without actually having assessed your skills for so long, the highest he would be able to do would be Major…however, by proving yourself, you could work your way up to Lieutenant General. But, of course, you would still answer to me." Despite his sister's joking tone in the last part of this statement, Lance was ecstatic. In the middle of his excitement and Ilana's pressing questions about her father, Amy just jumped right into her story, and they became quiet as her journey to Earth unfolded before them…

She entered the war hall and the King was waiting for her.

He hadn't explained in his message what the meeting had been about. Fearing the Mutraddi had pushed forward another surge of monsters, she had rushed here and burst through the doors. In retrospect, however, the message hadn't been urgent, and seeing as the rest of the war officials weren't here…

He turned to face her.

She hadn't expected the look on his face. Panicked, maybe. Weary, exhausted of war, stressed. All of the things that had been there just a few hours ago when they had packed up for the night.

Crashing through the doors at two thirty-four in the morning, she hadn't expected his face to be so…excited.

She walked over to him cautiously. "What is it, my king? Is something the matter?" She must have appeared to be quite a mess, she assumed- a hasty ponytail, dressed in crumpled war meeting attire… she realized her boots were on the wrong feet. She blushed and fixed them as the King responded.

Just one word.

"Amy."

She looked at the King from fixing her boots. She was starting to become seriously concerned. She had only been with him for about a year now, but knew him better than anyone save Modula, and he was the enemy. Everyone else who had known him better was now dead. Except for his daughter… if she was still alive.

"Are you feeling all right, your majesty?" Amy asked him as she walked toward him.

"Oh, yes, Amy. There is no need to worry about that- I have actually just realized something."

Amy's blood ran cold for a moment. "Your majesty, with all due respect, please don't tell me you're considering Major Lewis' plan, it's absolutely absurd! It's a suicide missio-" The King stopped her mid-sentence with an impatiient wave of his hand. "Of course not, you're right when you say it's crazy. But I called you here for another reason." He frowned. "And, please, Amy. It's just you and I right now, you can drop the formal titles. My name is John, and I prefer it to 'your majesty', 'your grace', or 'my king'."

Amy looked at him. "Very well, John. What did you call me here for? We only got out of the meeting three hours ago…"

John looked at her apologetically. "Sorry, but I just can't take it anymore." He started pacing as he usually did, and the once majestic white marble was now worn out from this constant habit. He looked up at her with the eyes of a madman, and for a second Amy thought that maybe he had gone insane. "I know that it might compromise her position, but I have to know if she's alright. It's driving me insane! I've developed a pod that can pinpoint her location without the Mutraddi being able to track it. You leave one week from tomorrow."

Had Amy not known him as long as she had and well as she did, she would have been left standing bewildered in the meeting of the war hall. But she had, and she did, and so her eyes widened slightly as she stated his orders back to him. "You're sending me to Earth to protect the princess."

The King nodded.

Amy looked at him. "John, are you sure you want to do this? Not to be conceited or anything, but I'm your best tactician and trainer. Do you think it's wise for the future of the war to send me away from where I'm needed? I'm not sure I'm qualified, and I'm sure that the soldier you initially sent is protecting Princess Ilana just fine."

The king looked at her with amusement. "Your rank proves your qualification, Amy. You're tied in my books for the most promising young soldier right along with…" the King trailed off. "Anyway", he began again. "Your training methods and tactics will persevere. I'm not sure anyone forgets your style of teaching." He chuckled. "Yes, quite unique. I never knew such a young girl could scream so loud… As I said before, you have one week from tomorrow to prepare."

Amy sighed. There really was no use going up against him when he was like this, not that it would be proper to do so anyhow. "Very well, then. I'll need the information about the original guardians of your daughter. I'm sure they are very capable."

The King's voice suddenly softened, and his eyes looked at Amy steadily. Knowing that look, she braced herself for whatever news was coming. And just in time, too.

"Apparently it runs in the family, as your brother really was perfect for the task."

She just stood there, completely shell-shocked. Of all the things she might have expected, this had not been one of them. "Lance?..." She felt her heart overflow. So, he lived. He was safe.

And she'd see him in one week.

Amy bowed to her king. "Thank you."

She rose to find him bowing to her. This startled her greatly- war or not, this conduct was extremely improper. He then rose to say, "It is I who should thank you. I know you'll protect her- do so well."

She kneeled to him and started to leave to prepare for the trip. Ten minutes ago she would have gladly climbed into bed, but she was too excited to do so now. She was stopped in the doorway by his voice behind her. "Honey?"

She turned, utterly surprised for what seemed like the umpteenth time that night. He radiated tenderness that she guessed had previously only been shown for Ilana. "Yes?" she asked.

His eyes were slightly worried, and his voice betrayed his fatherly side coming out. "I've known your father longer than either of you would ever remember. I've watched you both grow up, to a point." He hesitated, watching her face. "It's been a long time. A lot can change in ten years, especially a person. He's not the man you remember him to be."

Amy looked him in the eyes, unusually calm. "Do not worry, my king", she assured. "He is still Lance, and that's all that matters. Anything else is not relevant."

She exited, the king's eyes on her back and his thoughts on her behavior.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Other preparations were made between that time and the time of the launch. On the big day, the King came to see her off.

"Be careful", he said once again. "Succeed. We'll try to contact you from this end, and you should try from yours as well. The instructions on how to make the message are compacted into the circuit board of your pod, and you should be able to construct one even with the limited supplies on Earth. Octus will be able to follow the instructions. There are personal messages for each of them in your bag. Safe travels, and good luck."

Then, to her great surprise, he hugged her.

"For Ilana", he explained in her ear. "Give her my utmost love and tell her that someday soon, we'll finally be able to have our harvest festival dance." He released her, they bid each other good-bye, and soon she was on her way to the rift gate.

That was when her pod picked up a peculiar signal…a messenger pod from her old enemy, Xeexi. It was out of gas, but scuttling toward Mutrad at a fair rate.

She knew it contained information about the princess that would compromise her safety. So, what else could she do? Besides, it must have been able to activate the rift gate from Earth's end to get this far. The Octus fellow would be able to analyze it.

So, she snagged it…

…and it sent out a signal for 1,076 to start following her with all its poison spikes attatched.

Luckily, the signal seemed to be programmed directly to 1,076 and didn't reach Modula at all, so her cover wasn't compromised. Thank god for the distrust of the Mutraddi between each other, especially when it came to valuable information, Amy thought…

The rest is history. She stuffed the thing in her bag and made a mad dash for Earth. One crash-landing later, she had switched on her special armor given to her by the King a year ago and was in battle. They arrived, of course, and while she longed to go straight to Lance, she had to finish 1,076 off. But then, too late, she realized it was programed to target Manus armor…

"And after a couple of fuzzy memories and dreams, I woke up on your couch", Amy finished.

Sorry that one took so long, I have a lot of stuff due Wed. and Thurs. and even Fri., so don't be surprised if it's not updated until Saturday. I stayed up until one am for this chapter…REVIEW. Also, since it is called fanfiction, how do you fans think the story should go?

Many more chapters and elaborating on everyday life in an exciting way like the show did (before it was cancelled, ugh)

Start wrapping it up and make a short epilougue

Wrap it up NOW and make a long epilogue

Or: any other suggestions on length

I would prefer you to choose A, because I have so many more ideas…;D. Well, I really have to go. I tried not to end this one on too much of a cliffhanger. I know it's kind of a stretch, her being a General and all, but you'll see later that it suits her personality. At least this one was happier and less depressing… PLEASE REVIEW. IF I CAN STAY UP UNTIL 1 AM WRITING FOR YOU THEN YOU CAN TAKE THREE MINUTES OUT OF YOUR LIFE TO TYPE IN A REVIEW AND HIT SEND. PLEASE. Have a good day guys, I'm going to bed now, night...