The Tejina Chronicles: Ambush on the High Seas
By: Kioko the pirate
Chapter 2: The Floating City
Time seemed to be stuck on fast-forward for Lilo and Stitch for the day of departure arrived before either of them realized it. Unfortunately for Lilo procrastination had gotten the best of her and she now found herself running around her room frantically packing anything she could think of to take. Stitch just sat on the bed next to her suitcase, a pout on his face and the spell book held tightly against his chest. He watched sullenly as Lilo tossed some socks into her bag along with a few unfolded shirts, he still wasn't looking forward to this trip, though it was no longer just because of the training but because he had realized that he was going to be surrounded by water. In an attempt to make the experiment feel secure Lilo had half jokingly packed some duck shaped water wings, which to no surprise Stitch found humiliating.
"Stitch hurry up and put your book in the suitcase, we don't have much time!" said Lilo as she packed the last few things.
"I don't wanna go, you can't make me." huffed Stitch as he turned his head.
Lilo stopped and glared at her friend, resting her hands on her hips. "Stitch, you're coming and that's final, don't make me pack you in the suitcase." Stitch just blew a raspberry at her. Lilo narrowed her eyes and in a flash grabbed the book, resulting in a tug of war between the two friends. "Give me the book, Stitch!"
"Never!" shouted Stitch as he was lifted into the air by Lilo, who dangled him from the book like a fish on a line.
"Stitch, let go! We have to get going!" hollered Lilo as she began shacking the experiment back and forth. The little blue guy only responded with a rebellious 'No'. "Stitch!"
After a few moments Lilo managed to wrench the book away from Stitch and packed it in with everything else. Lilo then hurried down stairs, carrying the suitcase under one arm and a frustrated Stitch under the other, meeting with an awaiting Nani. The older sister had a series of suitcases of her own sitting around her as she tapped her foot impatiently.
"Come on Lilo, we've still got to pick up Victoria!" said Nani as she opened the door and began picking up her luggage.
"We're coming, were coming." said Lilo as she met up with her sister and headed out the door.
The two made it sluggishly down the stairs, impeded by a struggling Stitch and Nani's clunky luggage. But finally they all made it into the green jeep in the driveway. After tossing the luggage in back and strapping Stitch firmly into the back seat they took off down the driveway.
"Ok now, are you prepared for this trip? You didn't forget anything did you?" asked Nani as they drove through the center of town, passing Kiki's ice cream parlor and a few other popular stores.
"We've got everything, don't worry, Nani." assured Lilo as she glanced back at the suitcases casually.
"You have my number just in case you need anything?"
"Nani, we'll be in the middle of the ocean, what could you do if we called?"
"Do you have it?" repeated Nani, with a more forceful tone.
Lilo gave a frustrated sigh while rolling her eyes. "Yes, we have the number."
"It's just a precaution in case you get into a bad storm or if you just wanna hear your loving sisters voice." said Nani turning her forceful tone into a joke.
Stitch just sat in the back, a pout on his face as he listened to the sisters shoot friendly insults back and forth the rest of the way. Finally the jeep pulled up in front of Victoria's house, where an anxious Victoria and Snooty sat waiting on the front steps. Lilo waved happily as her friend picked up a small duffle bag sitting near her feet and rushed over to the car.
"Is that your only piece of luggage, Victoria?" asked Lilo surprised.
"Yup, this is it." smiled Victoria as she tossed the bag in the back of the car.
"You do know you and Lilo will be gone for two weeks right?" asked Nani.
"Yeah, I know," answered Victoria as she crawled over the back door and sat down on the seat next to Stitch, who gave a polite smile. "I don't like packing a lot of things, traveling light is always better. Besides, my Mom gave me some money to spend just in case I need anything."
Lilo and Nani were left staring back at the red head for a minute with confused and dumbfounded expressions. Meanwhile Snooty landed on the headrest above Stitch and looked down with his own confused look at the once again pouting Stitch.
"What's wrong with you?" asked Snooty innocently.
"Nothings wrong with me," snapped Stitch.
"I think there is."
"No there isn't!" shouted Stitch, ending the conversation before it could really get anywhere.
Before long they were off once again, heading toward the local port that would get them to Oahu. It was actually a rather short drive and the group soon arrived. Lilo and Victoria grabbed their luggage out of the jeep and yet again Lilo had to carry a still upset Stitch. After a few last goodbyes Nani left for the airport, leaving the two girls and their experiment partners on their own. The port wasn't large; it mainly held small fishing boats, a few Jet Ski's and other recreational vehicles. After about half and hour they managed to hop aboard a ferry that had coincidentally just taken another group across to Oahu. It was a smooth ride across the miles of ocean that separated the two islands, but that didn't matter much to one member of the group. Stitch left his disapproval of the trip behind him for a short while as he held onto Lilo's leg for dear life.
It was another half hour before the small ship arrived at Oahu; the Captain of the ship was nice enough to take the two girls and their experiments straight to the port where their transport to the "World 1" was to leave from. The girls, after paying for their ride, unloaded and made their way to the check-in post. It was slow going for Lilo however; Stitch remained stuck to her leg even after leaving the ship. Upon arriving at the check in post, Lilo and Victoria presented the blonde headed woman working behind the counter, with their tickets. The woman repeatedly looked between the tickets and the two girls suspiciously, trying to determine if the two adolescents were trying to fake their way onto the ship or not. After a moment the woman decided the two looked legitimate and tore off one end of the ticket.
"The ship to take you to the 'World 1' will be returning shortly, you can just have a seat over there." The woman pointed behind her desk at a couple of benches sitting under a shady awning, where another couple was sitting patiently. "And keep those pets of yours close to you at all times."
Lilo and Victoria gave an understanding nod, took back their tickets and walked over to the closest bench, which just so happened to be across from the already waiting couple. As they took their seats Stitch finally decided that it was safe and released Lilo's leg from his grasp. Leaving that portion of her leg feeling sweaty and cool in the soft breeze. He crawled up onto the bench next to Lilo and returned back to his sulky appearance while at the same time Snooty landed gently on Victoria's shoulder. The couple sitting across from them, an older man with an almost artificial looking tan and a woman who looked like she was using every anti-aging product out there, looked at the two young girls and their odd companions with an almost concerned interest. The two seemed worried that the girls were in the wrong place.
Both the man and woman were dressed like they had a grand amount of money behind them, but at the same time they seemed out of place. Like they didn't know how to act, one would think that they were just trying to look like they had money, in order to fit in with the high society folk that would unquestionably populate the ship. Lilo and Victoria became aware of this fact almost immediately, but they both decided to let it go.
"Are you two young woman heading somewhere?" asked the woman politely in a little-old-lady voice.
"We sure are, a two week vacation on the high seas." smiled Victoria.
"You are aware that this is the waiting area for the 'World 1' aren't you?" asked the man as he raised a thick grey eyebrow.
Lilo smiled at the man after quickly rolling her eyes. "Yes sir, we are. You see me and my friend here happened to win two of the free tickets that have been circulating." Lilo held up her ticket and Victoria did that same.
"Oh, I see." The man shifted in his seat as if he were growing uncomfortable in his own skin. "Well me and my wife here are taking our second honeymoon."
"Well congratulations." blurted Victoria.
"Thank you," replied the woman. "We've spent so much on the tickets for this voyage we're hoping it'll be a nice trip."
"Yes, practically half my fortune was spent on this," the man huffed and folded his arms across his chest. "Vandercamp better have everything the way I ordered."
"Fortune? What exactly do you do, Sir?" asked Lilo with some degree of suspiciousness.
The man's calm exterior began to crumble at Lilo's question. He began to fumble over words as he tried to think of something. "I uh… own a series of… uh… Hotels, yes, hotels. I own Hotels all across the world: London, England; Milan, Italy; Paris, France. I own Hotels in all of those cities and more." An accomplished smile formed on the mans face as he felt satisfied with his answer.
Lilo and Victoria both raised their eyebrows questionably. "You don't say." blurted Lilo trying to sound interested. Suddenly she felt a tugging on her shirt, Lilo looked down to see Stitch looking up at her and pointing discreetly at the couple's bags.
Lilo casually glanced down at a tan leather bag sitting in between the man and woman and noticed something that made her smile. She gently bumped Victoria's arm with her elbow and once again casually pointed at the bag once she gained her friends attention. In a moment the two were smiling along with their experiments as they saw two golden edged tickets sticking out of a side pocket. Now they very well could have been purchased tickets, except for one tiny detail. The words "You're cordially invited…" were visible on the tickets, and those words wouldn't make sense on a purchased ticket.
The man and woman seemed to realize that their secret was out, because the man slid the bag underneath their seat and then looked away, pretending to be interested in a poster that sat on a nearby wall, the woman just looked out toward the ocean. The couple never said another word or even looked at the two young girls for the rest of the time that they waited, which made things rather quiet and slightly uncomfortable. Almost an hour passed and no one else joined in waiting for transport to the "World 1", one family stopped by for a moment but set off on a small fishing boat instead.
The lack of action took its toll on the two experiments, Snooty was napping quietly as he perched on Victoria's shoulder and Stitch was half asleep as he rested his head on Lilo's leg. The two girls, taking into consideration their partners, spoke quietly to one another, sharing funny stories and jokes to try and pass the time. But finally they were saved from the quiet boredom as the sound of a ship engine became audible. Everyone sitting there on the dock looked out toward the ocean as the noise grew louder and louder. It continued to grow louder for the next few moments until finally the ship came into view. It was a large catamaran that looked more like a space ship. Its hull was sparkling silver and its windows were tinted dark, it seemed less like a transport ship and more like a yacht. The ship slowly made its way into the bay and over toward the dock. Dock workers suddenly appeared from nowhere as they ran passed Lilo and them and over to the ship. The man grabbed large ropes from the dock and tossed them over to men onboard the ship, whom had also seemed to appear from out of the blue. The men tied the ropes around hooks on the ship and then proceeded to attach the gangway between the ship and the dock.
Every one got up from their seats and began gathering their things. The man and woman seemed to be in a rush as they gathered up their numerous bags and hurried down the dock toward the ship, possibly trying to run away from the awkwardness of just sitting there. Lilo and Victoria weren't in much of a rush and took their time getting down to the ship. Even before they were on the ship Stitch began walking unacceptably close to Lilo, ready to grab onto her leg in an instant, he nearly tripped her a few times. The girls were meet at the end of the gangway by a tall dark haired man, dressed in a well-pressed short-sleeved uniform. It was entirely white, decorated with a series of medals on the left side of his chest. A captain's hat sat atop his head, leaning a little to the right. The man couldn't have been any older then Nani.
"May I see your tickets please?" asked the man as he held his hand out.
"Oh sure, hold on." Lilo began digging into her backpack and soon produced her ticket, Victoria did the same and the two of them handed their tickets over.
Unlike the woman at the desk the man merely glanced at the tickets and handed them back. "Well congratulations to the both of you, and it is our hope that you and your… uh… pets there have a wonderful time aboard the 'World 1'. If you'll please proceed carefully onto the ship we'll be getting under way shortly." instructed the man as he stepped aside with a small bow.
The two girls just smiled, picked up their bags and began making their way onto the ship. "Um, excuse me," blurted Victoria as she stepped down onto the ship. "How long will it take us to get to the 'World 1'?"
The man looked at her with a smile. "It should only take about a half an hour. Due to the ships size it had to drop anchor quite a ways out."
"Oh, ok." acknowledged Victoria.
The two girls finally made it onto the ship; Stitch was now clinging to Lilo's leg as he looked fearfully down at the water. Lilo just rolled her eyes as she followed behind Victoria and Snooty, walking like her leg was made of wood from Stitch's extra weight. The girls and their experiments found a door near the rear of the ship with a sign hanging from it that read "Guest Lounge" and proceeded to go in. What they saw completely stunned them. The interior of the small ship was like nothing they had ever seen before; even Stitch released his grip at the sight. The whole room was filled with expensive looking furniture and décor. A white leather sofa stretched around the back of the room beneath a massive scenic window, a series of white leather chairs littered the room, a small bar sat at one corner with a bartender standing there cleaning a sparkling crystal wineglass. The walls were covered in a glossy wood paneling and pieces of magnificent art dotted them. And finally a dazzling chandelier hung from the center of the room, the light creating rainbows on the floor and walls from the crystals hanging around it.
The group slowly made their way into the room and over to the leather sofa at the end of the room. They all sat down, sinking into the soft sofa with pleasurable sighs.
"Even though this isn't the 'World 1' this is still amazing." smiled Victoria as she looked around the room.
"This room certainly is pretty isn't it, Victoria?" asked Snooty.
"It sure is."
"I couldn't imagine how much all of this must have cost." Lilo said as she stroked the white leather.
"It's way beyond anything we could afford, that's for sure." laughed Victoria.
The two girls just began to laugh as Stitch and Snooty looked at them funny. Before long the ship got under way and was speeding through the water toward the "world 1". The ship was moving at a fairly impressive speed and yet the ride was as smooth as silk. Victoria was standing over at the bar, even though she knew she wasn't old enough to drink, and was talking to the bartender who she thought was cute. Lilo was just wandering around the room, looking at all the art on the walls, leaving Stitch and Snooty sitting on the couch, well Snooty was perched on top of it. The bat like experiment just stared at Stitch who was sitting their completely silent and with a depressed look upon his face. He wanted to say something to his friend to try and find out why he was so upset, but he felt too nervous to ask.
Stitch gave a tired sigh and fell over; he was now laying down face up on the soft leather cushions. His eyes were closed tight and a frown of displeasure sat prominently on his face. He just laid there for a few minutes, peacefully and yet uneasy. He wiped his face with his paw and then opened his eyes, finding Snooty staring down at him.
"What?" asked Stitch sounding annoyed.
"Nothing," blurted Snooty as he turned his attention away from the blue experiment.
"Why were you staring at me?"
Snooty gave a sigh of his own and slowly looked back at his friend. "I'm trying to figure out why you look so bummed about this vacation."
"I didn't want to come, that's why." said Stitch quietly as he closed his eyes again.
"But why wouldn't you want to go on a vacation?"
"Just because!" snapped Stitch as he rolled over, facing the back of the couch.
He didn't know why but just then, Snooty felt almost obligated to learn why Stitch was being such a grump. The purple bat gave a huff and glared down at his friend. "Because why, Stitch? Because Why?" yelled Snooty finally. Luckily none else in the room looked over. "I want you to tell me why?"
Stitch clenched his teeth and growled while curling up into a ball. Snooty growled quietly himself and hopped down onto the couch cushion. The bat-like experiment waddled over the soft cushions to his friend, he raised one foot up and flexed his three toes, and three sharp black talons emerged from the tips. In one swift motion Snooty drove the three talons into Stitch's rear end. The blue experiment's eye's shot open with the pain and by reflex Stitch leg shot toward his surprise attacker while Stitch held in a howl. Stitch's leg nailed Snooty in the gut and knocked him across the couch, knocking him against the other arm of the couch.
No sooner had Stitch kicked Snooty than the now even more angry experiment sat up, leaning on his good butt cheek and glared down the length of the couch at Snooty, who was shaking his head. "What the heck was that for?" yelled Stitch, this time Lilo looked over at the two but thought nothing of it and went back to analyzing the painting on the wall.
"Tell me why you are so against this trip!" said Snooty returning to his determined look. "Don't make me skewer you again!"
Both the threat of another stabbing and the annoyance of being asked over and over again forced Stitch to stand up, wincing from the pain in his patookie and walk over to Snooty. "Fine, you really want to know why I didn't want to come," said Stitch as he sat down on his knees in front of his friend. Stitch looked over toward Lilo and Victoria to make sure they weren't within earshot and then looked back at Snooty. An almost solemn look replaced Stitch's angered expression on his face. "Lilo, said that she would train with me so I could get even stronger, she said that she wouldn't let anything get in the way of our training and now, she just suddenly turns around an goes on this vacation. We won't be training on the ship, I know she says we will but we won't. Her and Victoria will probably be spending their time shopping and doing whatever else human girls do. I feel betrayed to say the least."
Stitch sank back down into the couch, a look of sorrow plastered on his face. A sympathetic look crossed Snooty's face as he waddled over next to his friend. The bat-like experiment wrapped one wing over Stitch's shoulders comfortingly. Stitch felt uncomfortable about how close his friend got and leaned away slightly.
"It's only two weeks Stitch, it's not like she's never going to train with you again. And I don't think she was trying to betray you. Now I may not be one of the brightest of Jumba's creations, but I've come to understand that this tournament never means as much to our partners as it does to us. But it's not like they don't try, Victoria is always trying to cheer me up when I think I'll fail in this fight, she's changed her whole schedule at times to accommodate training."
Snooty's voice grew a little more cheerful at the thought, but it only made Stitch feel worse. "What's your point?" grumbled Stitch.
"My point is you can't expect our partners to be obsessed with the tournament. We've got to let them have some time to their selves; after all, we're the ones dragging them into this. It'd be selfish and cruel to expect them to devote their precious lives to our cause."
Stitch didn't want to believe it for some reason, but he knew his friend was right. It was never his intention to control Lilo's life, but looking back now he saw that he had been doing or trying to do just that. A whole different feeling now filled him, no longer did the trip itself worry him and no longer did he care about the training. He now only worried about, what Lilo really thought about him deep down inside.
"Attention all guests, the 'World 1' is now in view. We will be arriving shortly, if you would please gather your things and ready your tickets, it would be greatly appreciated." blurted the voice of the man who had been standing on the dock, suddenly coming from speakers in the ceiling.
Lilo and Victoria both ran back over to the couch and grabbed their bags. "Come on guys, let's go see this ship!" exclaimed Lilo and she tucked one bag under her arm.
"Yeah, let's see just how big this thing is." added Victoria.
The two experiments nodded, Snooty flapped up onto Victoria's shoulder as the girl headed for the door. Lilo was close behind the two, Stitch hesitated for a moment, looking at Lilo and thinking about what Snooty had said, but he quickly chased after them. The four of them made their way out to the front of the boat and gazed out across the water. Every jaw there dropped as the massive ship grew nearer and nearer. It was a catamaran design just like the ship they were on, it had one massive hull in the center with wings coming out from each side, connecting at the water with two smaller hulls, which looked like they could be cruise ships on their own. On top sat a circular platform with high walls around the outside that leaned inward, just beyond them tall buildings could be seen and one massive tower rose above it all, leaning backwards in a gradual incline.
Within the next few minutes more transport ships could be seen heading toward the "World 1". Finally, the shadow of the ship covered the small group of friends. Stitch and Snooty both cooed in amazement as the magnitude of the ship finally set in. All of them stared upward; the "World 1" towered over them like a floating mountain of metal. The tiny ships all made their way around to the front of the ship where two massive doors sat open like the gaping mouth of a beast. The ships lined up and proceeded into an enclosed cavernous marina. Everyone was out on the decks looking around in amazement.
Rows of docks ran along each side of the marina, leading to a platform where dozens of other guest stood in line. The wall behind the platform slanted upward toward the ceiling, three tracks ran upwards with the wall with glass elevators traversing them, disappearing into openings at the top. Lilo's and Victoria's ship settled into a dock on the left hand wall, crews appeared once again from nowhere, tossing ropes back and forth from ship to dock. The boarding ramp was attached once again to the side of the ship, everyone gathered their bags and made their way off the ship.
"Well we're finally here," blurted Lilo as the group made their way down the dock toward the platform where every one stood waiting. The couple that had managed to disappear on board the transport ship was walking hastily ahead of the four friends, acting like they were in a race of some kind. "Our vacation can finally begin."
"I can't wait to see what kind of fancy stuff they have in the shops up there." added Victoria as she watched an elevator disappear into the ceiling.
"Ooh yeah!" cooed Lilo with a big grin.
Stitch and Snooty both groaned and rolled their eyes. "Lilo, please don't tell me you're going to drag us along with you to go shopping." whined Stitch as he looked up at the girl.
Lilo laughed and glanced down at him. "Don't worry, Stitch. We won't drag you around… too much." Stitch gave another groan as he wiped his paw down his face. "Well come on, Stitch, who else is going to carry my bags?"
Lilo and Victoria both laughed. Finally the group reached the platform, men dressed in red bellhop style suits instantly greeted them. The men politely took their bags and carried them over to a roped in area where dozens of other bags sat. Both girls thought about the spell books inside their bags but agreed to themselves that they'd be fine. They were then escorted over to the centerline where white suited waiters offered them bottled champagne and light hors d'oeuvre's, such as crackers with steak pâté. Since they weren't old enough to drink and raw meat didn't interest them the girls turned down the offer, however Stitch and Snooty did both get a cracker. Snooty spat the pâté out but Stitch liked it.
As the minutes of waiting ticked by, Lilo took notice of the people around her. Everyone was dressed in fine clothing, some had glasses of champagne in their hands, and all were smiling and laughing haughtily. None of them were like the people they had meet back on the island; they all seemed to fit the stereotype perfectly. All of them looked comfortable in their surroundings, they all interacted with each other as if they were long lost brothers and sisters, though none of them probably cared at all about the person next to them. Out of curiosity Lilo looked around to see if she could find the couple. She found them in the next row over; the man was standing with his chin held high as he talked to another man in front of him. The woman was looking around nervously at the other woman, comparing herself to them. Both of them were sweating, trying with all their might to keep up the façade. Lilo just couldn't help but giggle, but she quickly stopped as she came to realize her own appearance. Her and Victoria were dressed in casual shorts and tank tops, a beach look, and she now found herself surrounded by designer suits and dresses.
Even the sweaty couple was dressed more appropriately. She felt her cheeks blush as she noticed two women dressed in silky dresses pointing at her and Victoria and whispering among themselves. She didn't bother to point it out to Victoria, who was stroking Snooty's chest as he sat on her shoulder. She suddenly felt a tug on her sandal strap and looked down to find Stitch looking up at her.
"How much longer do we have to stand here?" asked Stitch, trying not to sound whiny.
"Not much longer, just be patient." Lilo said calmly.
Another 15 minutes passed before Lilo and Victoria finally caught an elevator. The elevator was much larger then it looked from the outside. The walls were glass, tan carpet covered the floor and large flowerpots sat on either side. Lilo, Victoria, Snooty and Stitch made their way into the elevator along with what was left of their line. After a moment the clear sliding doors closed and the elevator made a smooth rise upwards. Victoria and Snooty gazed out the glass with wonder as the dock grew smaller and smaller beneath them. Lilo and Stitch though just stood there amongst the suave crowd.
"My, what a peculiar creature," blurted a rather large woman as she waddled over to Lilo and Stitch. She had a white fur scarf around her neck that she tossed over her shoulder as she bent down to get a closer look at Stitch. "What exactly is it, dog or some sort of bear?"
"Uh, he's uh… a uh… designer… Koala." stuttered Lilo as the woman examined Stitch up and down.
The woman finally looked up at Lilo with some doubt. "A designer Koala?"
"Yeah, the latest in genetics, their all the rage in Australia." smiled Lilo as she scratched the back of her head.
"They are huh? Perhaps I should look into getting one for myself? I love anything with fur," said the woman as she stroked her fur scarf, making Stitch gulp nervously. "How much did it cost you?"
Lilo gave a nervous laugh and pointed at herself. "You see how I'm dressed?"
The woman gave a deterred look as if Lilo was dressed in rags. "That much you say, my oh my."
The woman turned away and went off to talk with another man on the other side of the elevator. Lilo flexed her fingers angrily after the woman was no longer watching. She walked herself right into it, but she still felt insulted. But she knew things like that would happen with a group of stuck up people around. Just then, the elevator grew dark as it entered the opening in the ceiling. Lights flashed by, illuminating the elevator for a moment before disappearing once again. But within moments the light of the sun filled the elevator. The elevator slowly came to a stop and the doors on the other side opened up to the main deck of the ship. The group filed out of the elevator and proceeded toward one of three kiosks sitting a few feet away.
Lilo, Victoria and their partners were the last ones off. Their jaws all dropped once again as the ship extended before them. The ship was not so much a floating resort, but a floating city! Multistory buildings stood before them, small paved roadways ran between, wide pearly white sidewalks. Beyond the crowd of people they could see through to the center of it all, a round domed building with Greek style pillars around it stood before a towering structure that peaked with a pod shaped structure that they guessed was the bridge. High walls ran along the outside edge of the small city, stairs ran along it's inside leading to individual little viewing rooms that peered out over the expanse of ocean.
They were all so captivated by it that they didn't notice it was their turn. "Excuse me, you there, would you mind stepping forward please?" blurted a baldheaded man dressed in a butler's uniform.
"Oh sorry, we're coming!" shouted Lilo as her group snapped out of their trance. The group hurried over to the man who was standing behind a desk in front of a wall full of key cards in slots. "Sorry about that." smiled Lilo innocently. The man just gave an unimpressed sigh.
"Please present your tickets." blurted the man in a monotone voice.
The girls quickly dug their tickets out from their pockets, having removed them from their bags before they were taken. They handed the man their tickets and he proceeded to check over them. "Dang, they check tickets a lot, don't they?" whispered Victoria into Lilo's ear.
"Well with all these wealthy and famous people walking around, security is bound to be tight." replied Lilo before looking back at the man.
The man stamped the two tickets and handed the tickets back. "Are you two traveling as a group?" the man asked as the girls took their tickets.
The girls looked at each other for a moment. "Yeah." said both of them in unison.
"Very well," the man turned around and grabbed two card-key's from the same slot, turned to a nearby computer, typed something in and then swiped each card through a small device next to the computer. He turned to the girls and handed each of them a card. "Your room number is A125, you'll find directions to your room on the map in front of the main dining hall. When you arrive call guest services and they'll send up your luggage." The man then looked at Snooty who was sitting on Victoria's shoulder still and then at Stitch who was sitting obediently at Lilo's feet. He kneeled down behind the counter and brought up two red leashes. One had a harness at the end of it and the other a collar. "All pets must be on a leash at all times while on the main deck or anywhere that is not designated a leash free zone. Feel free to remove the collar when in your room."
The man handed the girls the leashes, the one with the harness to Victoria and the one with a collar to Lilo. Stitch and Snooty both groaned as they looked at the leashes. "Mr. Vandercamp is holding a opening dinner in the main dining hall, it is desired that it be your first priority." blurted the man.
"I'm guessing that big domed building is the main dining hall?" said Victoria as she strapped Snooty into his harness. The bat blew a raspberry in disgust.
"You are correct, madam."
"Ok, well thank you." smiled Victoria.
The man nodded and the four of them set off down the sidewalk toward the dining hall. They agreed they were more hungry then tired and would check into their room later after dinner. After a few moments the four of them walked through large glass doors, Stitch grumbling the whole way as his collar rubbed his neck uncomfortably. But his grumbling stopped as the group came upon the main dining floor of the building. Greek style columns stood along the antique red walls. Ceiling high windows sat on the opposite side of the room, shining sunlight in upon the hundreds of guests standing around a massive table that stretched from one end of the room to the other, a massive chandelier hung over head. The table was littered with delicacies from roasted pork, to turkeys bigger then Stitch and countless desserts and vegetable platters. All four mouths began to water as the smell of the wonderful food filled their nostrils.
Everyone took one long sniff and all sighed in pleasure. "Well what are we waiting for, let's eat!" shouted Lilo as she hurried down the set of stairs leading down to the floor.
Lilo and Stitch were at the bottom of the stairs before Victoria and Snooty could even blink. " Hey, wait for us, Lilo!" called Victoria as she ran after them.
The group got questionable looks from the other guests as they slid to a stop beside the table. "Oh what to eat, it all looks so good!" blurted Stitch as his tongue hung from the side of his mouth.
"Behave yourself now, Stitch. We don't want to make a mess." said Lilo as she rubbed her hands together anxiously.
"What are you going to try first, Victoria?" asked Snooty as he eyed up a cherry pie sitting just a foot away.
"I don't know, Snooty. I'm thinking a nice big turkey leg."
The four of them were so caught up in deciding what their first bite would be that they failed to notice two figures walking toward them. Their footsteps were too quiet to be heard of the low hum of the room, they stopped just a few feet behind the four friends and yet went unnoticed. The two figures stood there silently for a few moments before one of them spoke up.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't our old friends."
Lilo and Stitch's blood ran cold at the sound of the familiar voice. Victoria and Snooty were the first to turn around, unaware of exactly who stood before them. Lilo and Stitch both turned around slowly, finally coming face to face with the last people they expected to see. Standing there before them, was none other then Kioko and Angel. Kioko was dressed in a black long sleeved button down shirt; tan trousers and what appeared to be black dress shoes. Angel stood next to him; her arms folded over her chest and a red collar just like Stitch's around her neck. Kioko was holding her leash loosely in his hand, however Lilo tightened her grip on Stitch's. Both Kioko and Angel had smirks on their faces as Lilo and Stitch glared back at them.
"You, what are you doing here?" asked Lilo angrily. She wanted to grab the spell book but she soon remembered that it was in her suitcase.
"Vacation, just like you I assume." replied Kioko calmly.
Stitch was growling, as he remained focused on the pink experiment. "You have some nerve showing your face, you traitor, you backstabber!"
Angel closed her eyes and lowered her head with a sigh. "You're still upset I see,"
"And why wouldn't I be?" snapped Stitch as he stepped forward, tugging on his leash.
"Why won't you just let it go? You'll feel better if you do." said Angel as she looked up at him.
"How can I just let it go?" Stitch was now trying to hold in his anger, his teeth were clenched and so were his fists. "Some one I thought was a friend, an ally, just turns around and tries to destroy me!" Angel just turned her head casually, obviously not wanting to hear or pay any attention to the blue experiment. Just then a small smile crossed Stitch's face. "It does make me feel better however seeing you in one of these degrading leashes too. Ms. I'm-so-high-and-mighty."
The female experiment's calm appearance broke for a moment as she tensed up in annoyance. "Shut it, weakling." growled Angel trying to keep her cool.
"Are you two here to pick a fight or something?" asked Lilo.
"Are you kidding, a fight in this place? The two of us combined wouldn't be able to pay for the damages. Heck, I could barely afford this outfit." answered Kioko as he looked around.
"So then why are you here, if you don't want to fight why talk to us or even come near us?"
Serious expressions appeared on both Kioko's and Angel faces as they both looked at Lilo. "Despite what you may think of us, we like to play fair and we thought it'd only be fair for us to warn you."
For the first time Victoria chimes into the conversation, grabbing Angel and Kioko's attention. "Warn us about what?" asked the girl timidly.
"You mean none of you have noticed yet?" asked Angel.
"Noticed what?" asked Stitch.
"Look around this dining hall, and tell me what you see." ordered Kioko.
As ordered all four of them began looking around the massive room. At first nothing seemed to be wrong, waiters were serving drinks and people were talking and laughing, nothing out of the ordinary. But just as she was about to give up looking round, Lilo noticed one of the pets sitting beside one younger looking man on the other side of the room. Here eye's widened as the pet looked over at her with big black eyes. At first it was hard to tell because of it's natural brown fur color but as she looked at the creature she noticed it's rather bulbous nose and it's round speaker-like ears, it was an experiment. As if from nowhere she suddenly began to notice more experiments all around the room, standing with whom she assumed to be their spell book users. Victoria began to notice them all now too, her jaw dropped as she counted over 20 other experiments.
"You see them now, don't you?" asked Kioko, reading the expressions on their faces.
Lilo and Victoria as well as their experiments looked back at him with disbelief. "How… how are there so many experiments here?" asked Lilo.
"That's what we're asking ourselves," blurted Angel. "Almost every one it seems that received one of those free tickets has an experiment."
"And it's impossible for such a thing to be just chance." added Kioko.
"You don't think something could be going on, do you?" asked Victoria.
"We don't know at this point. All we know is…"
Just then a man dressed in a purple tux appeared at the other end of the room, standing atop a large set of stairs, large red curtains draped down behind him. "Ladies and Gentleman, may I have your attention please!" shouted the man. The room fell silent as every one looked over. "We hope your trip here was pleasant and we hope you are enjoying the food and drinks. But now I wish to introduce the man who made this possible, Mr.Vandercamp."
The man stepped aside with a bow; the large curtains split and out walked Mr.Vandercamp himself. He was dressed in the same grey suit he had been seen wearing on TV. He walked to the edge of the top step and stopped, gazing out over his guests with a pleased smile.
"Welcome all of you, welcome aboard the 'World 1'!" shouted the man as he spread his arms toward the crowd. The crowd replied with a small amount of polite clapping which died down quickly. "For years I've waited for this moment, and now that it is here, it has exceeded all my expectations. And just as well, I hope your stay here exceeds your expectations as well. Please take full advantage of all we have to offer, like our world-class spa, our many gourmet restaurants, dazzling theatre shows and of course the many famous stores and shops. Oh and did I mention, as the honorary first guests aboard this fine ship, you all receive 50 discounts on it all!" applauding once again filled the room as well as a few localized hollers. "Now, please continue with your meals and enjoy your stay aboard the 'World 1'!"
With that the man turned with a wave and walked back through the curtain, followed by a loud uproar of applause. But as he left Kioko and Angel returned their attention back to the group before them, a moment later they looked back at them.
"Just watch yourselves and keep an eye out for anything suspicious. Come, Angel." said Kioko as he turned and walked away.
Angel began to follow him but stopped and looked back at Stitch for a moment. "Don't get yourself eliminated, Stitch." Angel said with a serious look on her face before walking away.
Stitch gave a growl as he watched the two walk away, meanwhile Victoria looked over at Lilo who was also watching the two walk away. "Uh, Lilo?" Lilo looked over at her after getting one last glimpse. "Who were those two?"
"That's Kioko and Angel," started Lilo.
"They're the owners of the black book." finished Stitch with a sound of disgust in his voice.
Both Victoria and Snooty went wide-eyed. "They're the ones with the black book?" shouted Victoria sounding almost fearful.
"How can a pink female experiment be the black book user?" asked Snooty.
"Color and gender don't matter, Snooty. " blurted Stitch. "She's powerful, and she's the one I want to beat the most. That's all that matters."
Well that's the end of the second chapter. Sorry for the length of both the chapter and wait. I should really stop trying to set deadlines for myself, I never stick to them. I promise the next chapter will be a bit more exciting. Please review.
