DISCLAIMER:

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

Thanks for all of my people who review, it really makes my day… even when the entry is not technically reviewing things, and a certain person named purpledragon6 is just being awesomely ironic ;). Even then. And, still, REVIEW. It helps motivate me to update faster. The teacher in my prep class is awesome- she doesn't mind my writing fanfiction in here as long as I'm on task, and that shouldn't be a problem. In that way, she is awesome…regardless, enjoi!

Chapter Seven

Once she was done with her story, Amy proceeded to pass out.

She was panting from her recollection, and as her eyes clouded over she fell into Lance. He caught her, alarmed. He looked at Octus. "What happened to her? Is she okay?"

He had already started analyzing her vitals. "She appears to be suffering from exhaustion, but that is to be expected. All of that talking must have stressed her oxygen intake. She should recover in one to two hours. However, despite her instructions to slap her and wake her up, I do not believe that would be optimal for her health."

Lance looked down at his baby sister in his arms. She had curled up naturally, and regardless of the fact that her face was once again covered in a thin sheen of sweat, she was smiling slightly. Lance smiled back. "Welcome home, Amy", he whispered happily.

Ilana walked into the living room to find the two of them passed out on the couch.

She smiled as she took them in. Amy was leaning into her brother, her head cradled in the hollow of his shoulder as his arm wrapped around her back. His other arm fell off the couch lazily, and Lance was using her hair as a pillow (not that there was much of it to use). His chin fit into the top of her head perfectly, and she was curled into him in an almost fetal position, though her legs were dangling off of the edge of the couch. Her arms were at her sides, and one sat next to Lance's left leg, which was curled in. His right leg was next to her on her other side, so he made a protective cradle to keep her from falling off. Identical smiles played on their faces, as if they were finally having good dreams for the first time in many years.

They looked so at peace, so happy.

She took a picture with her watch, covered them with a blanket and sat down to read a book by the fireplace. It was still on, and as the day had turned out to be stormy, it created the perfect heat. The peaceful moment seemed to stretch on and on.

Octus came downstairs after a little while. He was in his Mr. Lunis form, as they had opened the windows. The dim light shone through as he sat down in the chair opposite of her that they had gotten a little while ago. He was obviously scanning through some files (probably trying to find something else on Amy), and his gentle whirring produced a peaceful white noise, adding to the room's serenity.

Eventually Amy woke up. She was still exhausted and groggy, but she smiled happily and snuggled closer into Lance, obviously not realizing that they weren't alone. She brought her legs up to the side, and this woke up Lance. For once, Lance was groggy too, and half-consciously shifted to become more comfortable. They drifted off into sleep once more as Ilana stifled a giggle.

The next time they awoke, it was later that night.

Ilana had slept in the meantime, too, and Octus was making dinner when they awoke.

Amy and Lance stumbled into the kitchen, and Ilana giggled. They both had bed head like crazy. Amy's short red hair was sticking up in all directions, and she yawned as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Lance's were only half open, and his own hair couldn't seem to make up its mind- half of it was made of poofy curls, and the other half had followed the example of that one little hair that always stuck up from his head, and together they made a kind of Mohawk. "Morning", Lance yawned.

"More like evening," replied Ilana. "It's six thirty PM. Dinner will be ready in ten minutes."

Amy perked up at this. "Food?" She grinned. "Great. I'm starved. What are we having?" Lance chuckled. Her appetite hadn't seemed to decrease after ten years. Amy punched him in the arm.

"Well, since this is your first meal on Earth, I figured I would make something traditional", said Octus. "So, I decided on hamburgers."

Amy's grin grew even bigger. "Great, meat!" She's definitely Lance's brother, thought Ilana, and her face became slightly distasteful at the thought of all of those cows being slaughtered. She wasn't a full-on vegetarian, but she did try to avoid meat when possible. Every once in a while, though, a hamburger did hit the spot.

"School starts at eight tomorrow, so you're going to need a lot of energy tomorrow to keep from falling asleep in history", Lance told her.

Ilana gaped at him. "You're not seriously telling me that you think she should go to Sherman tomorrow."

Lance shrugged. "Why not? She'll be fine. She's tough, believe me." He ruffled his sister's hair, making her bed head worse. "Besides, it's better this way. The sooner she assimilates the better. We wouldn't want Barb looking through the window prematurely and seeing her. We'll have to have Octus there to calm her down, since he seems to have a certain way with her." The last part Lance directed jokingly toward Octus.

The robot changed the subject. "Any way, Amy's already enrolled. She almost always has at least one of us in her classes."

They all looked at him peculiarly. "How? She's two years younger than we are."

"I put her in as 'advanced', so we could be in the same grade. It's going to kind of weird having a fourteen-year-old as a junior, but the school year is only half way through and according to her birth certificate that I found, her birthday would translate to being a week away in Earth time." He looked at Amy. "I know that you studied about Earth before coming here. You will have to work extra hard in your classes, despite this. It will work out, though."

Ilana didn't hear the last part. She was bubbling over with excitement. "Your birthday's a week away? How exciting! We have to do something for it! Oh, my, gifts! What do you want?" All the questions were blended together, leaving Amy no room to answer.

The young teenager chuckled. "It is not necessary to celebrate my birthday, Princess."

Ilana frowned. "Two things. One: please just call me Ilana, and two: we ARE celebrating your birthday, so that's that."

Lance agreed with her. "You bet. I've missed ten of them, I'm not missing another."

Amy gave Lance a dirty look that turned into a sly smile. "Fine, then. I suppose we'll just have to celebrate yours, too."

"What? When is his?!" demanded Ilana, and Lance sighed in exasperation.

"A week after mine. So, two weeks from now", Amy responded.

"Dinner is ready", Octus announced, and they turned to see the table set and hamburgers on every plate. They washed their hands and sat back down at the table.

"So, what's my schedule?" Amy asked Octus as she dug in to her hamburger eagerly.

"Trigonometry, Word History, Physical Education, Spanish, and Chemistry. I left your elective open to decide tomorrow at the admissions office. If you take art, you'll have Ilana in your class, and Lance and I are both in pottery", Octus explained. Lance snorted at the mention of pottery, which he thought was the most useless class in the world. He did, however, like punching the clay. He always imagined it was Chan's face.

Amy looked up excitedly. She swallowed and asked, "What kind of bands do they have?"

They all stared at her.

Lance looked at her in exasperation. "Tell me you haven't become a band geek in the past ten years."

Amy's face betrayed her confusion. "Back on Galaluna, those who played instruments were viewed as the most popular people in the school."

Her brother laughed. "Then I guess, when you were studying about Earth, you didn't come across the fact that most of those in band are considered 'geeks' here. There are a few exceptions, though", Lance said thoughtfully.

"Then, Octus, can you sign me up for band?" Amy asked with a smile.

"Your options are Intermediate and Advanced Orchestras, String Ensemble, Intermediate and Advanced Bands, and Wind Ensemble", Octus told her.

"The most advanced one for winds and strings", Amy chose. "You can drop Spanish. I don't need a language, since I'm already fluent in that and many other languages. Also, can you change P.E. to soccer? I know it's just like Tyrenball back on Galaluna."

"Sure", Octus replied. "Also, there is one more music option available at Sherman. It's a seventh period class."

Lance started staring daggers at the robot. "No. Don't say it." Amy looked at Octus curiously.

"This year, the program is running all year under directions of the principal. Next year, though, it will be back to a fall sport." As Octus said this, Amy looked at him quizzically. "I thought you said it was a musical program, not a sport."

Octus explained. "The Wildcat Marching Band."

After much arguing, compromising, and rearranging schedules, it was agreed that Amy would take Wind Ensemble, String Ensemble, Marching Band, and soccer as well as the other required classes (Spanish excluded). Ilana was partial to soccer as well, so she would switch from her third period PE class to Varsity Soccer with Amy. They would both try out tomorrow. Octus had rearranged his schedule so he had the Ensembles with Amy. They would both have to audition for that on Monday as well, but with Octus' uncanny ability to analyze anything (including music), he was sure to get in. No one was willing to switch to be in Marching Band with Amy, though, and she didn't seem to mind.

And so, the schedules were set for the beginning of the second semester the next day.

"You're going to need supplies", explained Lance. "Binders, pens, pencils, all of that stuff."

"Just like the supplies for school on Galaluna", Amy confirmed. "No need to worry. I already have all of that stuff in my ba-"

She froze. Several emotions flickered across her face at once. Confusion, anger, despair, desperateness, murderous, sadness. She settled on extremely worried, and looked at all of them urgently. "What was recovered from my pod after I landed?"

They were all startled by her sudden demand, but Octus answered right away. "Only the Galalunian tech in the circuitry and a bag. We assumed it was yours."

The relief was clear on the young girl's face. "Oh, thank goodness", she said. "Where is it?"

Octus went to go get it. As he brought it back to her, Amy grabbed it urgently and started going through it.

"Geez," Lance said with good humor. "And I thought the girls here on Earth liked their purses."

Amy looked at him and rolled her eyes. "If you knew how important this bag was, Lance, you wouldn't scoff at me. If you think I'm stressed about losing my makeup, you are wrong."

"What's in it?" Ilana asked with curiosity. She blushed, realizing the question might not have been appropriate. "I mean, if you don't mind telling us."

"Everything I owned on Galaluna," Amy said. "So, not much. It's also stocked with high-level healing antibiotics and medicines along with many other things that I might have needed on Earth- including school supplies. The scientists on Galaluna developed a technology so that anything entering the bag would be shrunk by increasing its density. The bag is made to weigh nothing by creating a zero-gravity chamber on the inside. It only weighs the fabric of the bag itself. It's pretty much the best bag ever. It's common in the war, too- the Mutraddi may have force, but we have brains. It's great for carrying supplies to troops."

"Seems like a whole lot of trouble", Lance said skeptically. He was eyeing the bag as if it was about to bite off her arm.

"When it comes to protecting the Princess, nothing is too much." Amy brought out a bottle of pills. "Here we go. One of these, and my wound will be completely closed by tomorrow. I'll be able to try out for everything without the threat of passing out." She took the pill with some milk and ate another bite of her hamburger.

She looked at them. "There's one more thing it holds."

They looked at her with curiosity, and then eagerness and disbelief as she said: "A personal message for each of you from The King and some others."

The hamburgers had been forgotten by all but Amy.

As she munched silently, she wondered what life would be like on Earth. Not that bad, I hope, she thought. As soon as she had given each their video hologram messages, they had retreated to their rooms to watch them. Even Octus had left with urgency.

She yawned. She was still tired, and the healing pill had a slight narcotic in it. She walked back into the living room after washing the dishes and crashed on the couch.

Lance was sitting on his bed staring at his triangle. The triangle that contained his message from The King. And others too, according to Amy, he thought. I wonder what she meant by 'others'. Well, there's only one way to find out.

He flipped on the projector.

The tip of the triangle produced a hologram in front of him. Lance gasped as he saw his King. He felt the urge to kneel before him, even though he knew that the man projected before him was in reality many light-years away. The man before him… this war-weary, tired, clearly sad man. This changed man. And yet… he was happy. Perhaps they had just made a successful push against the Mutradi…?

The King began to speak.

"Hello, Lance." The soldier sat up straighter, as if he were being addressed in real time. "The fact that you are reading this means that Amy made it safely to Earth. Thank god for that, she's one hell of a woman." Both the man on the bed and the man in the hologram smiled. "And one hell of a soldier, too. You're lucky to have her. I'm sad to see her go. It'll be tough without both of you. But enough about Amy. This message is for you."

A soldier rushed up to the King and gave him a message. The king responded and the soldier ran off. The soldier had looked oddly familiar… Lance couldn't quite place his finger on him. "You'll speak to that soldier later," the King told him. His face turned into that of someone with an inside joke as he said, "He's about your age."

The King continued. "I trust you are taking good care of Ilana. I can guess you must have clashed in the beginning, since you two are so different. But she's Ilana, and I know that she's changed you. It's impossible for her to not have unless you haven't been taking your job seriously, and I know you take everything seriously, so…" the King chuckled. "Just remember, you're there to assimilate, not to draw attention."

The King looked at Lance very deliberately. "I trust you with Ilana, Lance." Lance felt a hidden message, but couldn't quite decipher it. "I know that you will do your best to protect her. Take ALL the necessary measures… and enjoy her company, Lance." The hologram showed the pain in his face. "I miss her every day here. The only reason I can live is that I know that you're protecting her, and that you always will. In a way, I live through you, Lance. So live with Ilana well." For no particular reason, that last sentence caused Lance to blush.

At this point in time, The King ducked out of the view of the screen. He gestured for the soldier that had delivered the message to come into view, and as he did, Lance scrutinized him once more. Torn and tattered clothes, a marked face, and the eyes of a man who had not slept for several days slapped Lance in the face. Some soldier he was, sitting in a history class every day while people fought and died for his planet.

With a start Lance realized he recognized the soldier on the screen. Yes, the familiar sneer had disappeared, but the blond hair and ridiculously long nose gave him away.

Baron.

Lance felt his blood boil, and despite the fact that it was just a hologram, had an overwhelming urge to punch his rival in that big nose.

The feeling disappeared as Baron began to talk.

"Hey, Lance," Baron said in a weary, cracked voice. Yet there was something lying underneath it… relief? That didn't make sense…

"So, I don't have much time here. My squadron leaves in ten minutes to lead another attack against the Mutradi. I have to be there to help. So, long story short…" Baron paused, clearly fighting with himself. "I'm sorry."

Lance recoiled. What the heck…?

Baron continued. "I was a bastard back at the Academy. I realize that now. I can't really believe I'm saying this", Baron admitted, "but I was jealous of you. You had the dedication, the skills… and despite the fact that I had everything material and you had nothing, you rose above that. I felt like you made a fool of me. With hubris being my fatal flaw, I suppose I just couldn't tolerate that." Baron paused. "I still think you're annoying as hell, though", Baron joked. Lance smiled, and his last bit of resentment towards his childhood enemy dissolved.

An indecipherable announcement came on over a distant intercom in the background, and Baron's face tightened. "Well, I suppose that's my call. One more thing", he said. "I met Amy. Take care of her. Her and Ilana. With you guys, Galaluna might just stand a chance, whether we win or not." With that, Lance's not-so-much rival rushed off to risk his life for Galaluna. "Good luck, Baron, and be safe", Lance found himself whispering. There was no way he was going to let Baron die before Lance got to see him again, for so many reasons. To finish the fight. To accept the apology. To return it. To become friends. Funny, thought Lance. If even Amy would have told me that just twenty minutes ago, I would have laughed in her face. Perhaps Ilana has changed me. I'm able to accept Baron now. Lance marveled at his change in mentality in just the past year or so.

"That is pretty much it," The King said as he reappeared, and Lance found himself disappointed. He wanted there to be more. The hologram hesitated. "There is one more thing, though. Obviously we don't know when the war will end, so we don't know when Ilana will come back. She'll probably take Amy's arrival as false hope. Now, don't crush that hope, but don't encourage it, either. Let it dwindle slowly. I know it'll take a while, but if it does, then it will do so in due time." The King gave Lance one last meaningful look, one that Lance couldn't fully decipher. Concern, yes, and even some compassion. But there were a few more elements that were harder to read…"Just," he told Lance, "take care of her. Please. For me."

And with that, the hologram disappeared, leaving Lance staring at the other side of his bed.

"Octus." The King's hologram addressed the robot as his analysis began. "You have most likely gained invaluable experience by this point. I have enclosed a few instructions at the end of this message for updates. I thank you for the service you have done for my daughter, and for Lance. Rest assured, Amy is worthy of being trusted." The King glanced out from the hologram with the emotion that Octus interpreted as caution.

"Do not forget something, Octus. Despite your abilities, you are indeed the most vulnerable of the group." Octus tensed, and a sense of almost indignation registered.

The King continued. "As I'm sure you have discovered by now, you have capabilities that range beyond purely logical. You are not fully machine nor man, and so you are weak to assaults of both the emotional and mechanical kind." Octus recalled the recent events of his temporary 'death' and found the King's words to be true.

"You also have the enormous capability of adaptation and learning, so you can adjust to your environment much easier than either Ilana or Lance. You obviously have other mechanical abilities that are extremely important as the mind of Titan, and I trust that you use them. That is it, really. Just one thing. Please, I know it is hard, but try not to let yourself become caught between your man and machine mentalities." As the hologram started running the instructions for upgrades, the King vanished. Octus could not help but think that he had perhaps been referring to situations such as Kimmy.

I should probably call her, he thought. She has texted me many times. With that, the robot went to call his human girlfriend and further complicate the situation.

Ilana was obviously the one most excited about her message. Finally, news from her father.

After rushing upstairs and throwing herself onto her bed, she fumbled for the on switch and, upon clicking it, laid it gently on her bed. As her father's face appeared on the screen in front of her, she felt her heart ache.

Daddy.

He was war-torn and weary, she could tell, but he tried to hide it for her. She could find hidden pain easily now after this time she had spent with Lance- especially the past day and a half.

"Hello, my darling." His voice made her heart skip a beat. It had been so long, she had almost forgotten his face, his voice…

"There are so many things I wish to say to you, but I only have so much time. First of all, I love you. No matter how many light-years away we might be, that fact will always ring true. I am so glad you made it safely to Earth. I hope you aren't giving Lance a hard time", he joked. Ilana smiled slyly. That had, in fact, been hard in the beginning.

"Second, I want to remind you not to do anything rash. You are the hope of Galaluna, no matter the outcome of the war. Amy is a great strategist and General overall, though, and she's helped to almost turn around the war. We have been progressing in knowledge, and it's helping our resistance. We might just have a chance here. There is not yet cause to despair. Our soldiers are fighting back under the name of Galaluna. Under the name of their princess, Ilana." Ilana felt tears come to her eyes. For me…

"Speaking of soldiers…." Her father ducked out of view. Don't go, thought Ilana, but became overjoyed when an old friend came into view.

"Hobbs!" She cried with joy at the monitor. Her old bodyguard had entered her field of vision and was smiling. "Hello, Princess. I don't want to keep you from your father for too long, but I had to say hello and to remind you to stay safe." He glared at her with good humor. "I can only hope that there are no wells on Earth. Because, with you, there's always a well…" Ilana laughed and felt tears spill over as nostalgic memories flowed back. She wondered how the natives were doing. No doubt their brand-new school had been destroyed. The thought made her sad, but she was distracted by Hobbs' next words.

"Be careful around Lance", he warned. Ilana looked at the screen in surprise. The soldier explained. "I've worked with him before. He's unruly, unsustainable, completely self-centered and yet still manages to be depressed. So, in a nutshell, he contradicts with you in every way possible." Hobbs smirked, and then smiled. "If anyone can change him, though, it's you, and I know you will do so in the best way possible." He smiled sadly, checking the time. "Unfortunately, I must go join a meeting. Please, my Princess. Be safe." And as he was walking away, Ilana thought she heard him say, "And don't find any wells….."

Her Daddy came back on. "As much as I wish you were here, I am so glad you are safe. Not a day goes by that I don't think about and miss you, and I would trade the world to have you by my side. Just knowing that you are safe with Octus and Lance helps me get through the day. And, about Lance."

Ilana felt herself blushing.

Her father looked at her with a look she hadn't seen before. She supposed it was the "boy" look that she had never gotten, as she had never had more than one diplomatic arrangement with the same man. "I trust Lance. And I trust you. So, I trust you two. I believe that you two will…" her father looked at her uncomfortably, and Ilana laughed lightly. This was not his area of expertise, that was sure. "I trust that you two will cooperate as…best as you can."

An intercom blared. Her father's beard shone in the light, the once pure and well-conditioned white now turned to a dirty grey with dirt and sweat peppering it. She ignored the red marks. "It appears I must go", he said with an immense sadness matched by Ilana's. "Be safe, my darling. I have sent you a gift through Amy- just ask her for it." The last sentence before the hologram terminated was an urgent whisper full of immensely strong emotion. "I love you, Ilana."

Her father left her once more, and in the newly dark room Ilana was left weeping tears of joy and sadness into her pillow, her salty water staining the fabric.

They all exited their rooms at the same times.

Ilana had dried her tears, Lance had snapped out of his reverie, and Octus was currently updating himself. They looked at each other and a mutual decision was made- later. They were tired, and needed rest.

They all went downstairs and stopped at the sight of Amy crashed on the couch.

Of course. How could they have forgotten?

The fourteen-year-old teenager was curled up in a ball, shivering. Wearing shorts and a T-shirt wasn't exactly enough warmth in a house that Octus liked to keep at 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Lance walked over to her and picked her up as if she were a baby, his arms cradling her legs and neck. He walked back up the stairs, and Ilana and Octus followed them. Ilana rushed ahead and opened the door to her room. Lance came in and tucked his little sister in, and sat down at the edge of Ilana's bed. He looked at his little sister in silence, and Ilana came up and sat down next to him. She put his hand on his, and rested her head on his shoulder. Octus sat in a chair across from them, and they all looked at the girl who, in the course of a couple of hours, had traversed thousands of light-years, been stabbed, almost died, woken up in a strange house, been reunited with her brother, and eaten her first hamburger (perhaps the most important of all). More than any of them could even process, really.

One heck of a woman. One heck of a soldier. One heck of a General.

One heck of a fourteen-year-old girl.

They all looked at her as they slowly fell asleep (or went into sleep mode [alarms for the next day set, of course]), together, a family of four in a room overlooking the city.

A true family.

WOW sorry that took so long. I actually started that Wednesday…ten pages in Word, sheesh. I admit that I fashioned Amy's band geekiness after my own (marching band nerds rule ;). And it IS a sport. Try doing what we do forty hours a week and say it's not), but I'm going to make her way better at it. Haha, living through fictional characters. Living the life. Ha… anyway… I have really been feeling of the loss of this show recently. I know that no matter how well I write (*cough* not that well *cough*) there are some things that can only be conveyed through the show, and it will never really replace the show itself (which it is not meant to do, anyway). I am, however, glad that some of you like it. Please review, it is always appreciated. Some Ilanca in the next chapter, maybe posted Monday or Wednesday (?). I will try to update, but have to read and take notes of 60 pages of my English book, do my math, study for science, practice, and do the chores still, soo… yeah. Also, it's like three right now, so I need sleep. Please review and have a nice day