Author's Note: You'll have to forgive that the chapters are so short. This one is, so far, the longest…I'll try to make chapter 5 longer. It's in the works…I've actually got horrible writer's block. Let's hope it clears up.

Usual disclaimers, blah, blah, blah…Warnings of the random thoughts that wander around in Stitch's twisted little mind. She's like the skinny, silver-haired, non-talking reincarnation of ME. Sort of. Thanks to all who reviewed! Let's get this stone rollin'!

Chapter 4

Midday came and went, and the day just seemed to get weirder by the second. Sora was using his weird key-like thing as a weapon, destroying big crickets made of nothing but blackness. Donald kept using spells and Goofy fought with a shield, and even though the creatures came for me a few times, Sora got them before I could even think about defending myself. He had an oddly strong sense of right and wrong, for a fifteen year old boy. (He had told me how old he was when Kupo had asked him. Luckily Kupo also knew how old I was and was able to answer when Sora asked.) He was a strange person, in a way that's difficult to explain, but he was nice to me and kept his promise about teaching me to talk.

After a particularly large swarm of the dark creatures, (Goofy called them the Heartless,) Sora vouched that the three of them take a break before heading off to—I don't remember what he called the place. Something about a garden. So they all sat down, and I followed suit, watching as Kupo sorted out a bunch of different shards, gems, and crystals. He was muttering to himself and I didn't catch anything he said.

"Okay Stitch, let's try this again…" Sora turned to me and I looked up knowingly. His eyes were a very nice shade of blue, I remember thinking vaguely…I'd been doing a lot of vague thinking in the last few hours, and it was very much out-of-character for me. He continued. "Something easy…How about, 'moogle'?"

I thought for a second, mouthing the word, trying to get a good grip on it. Two syllables and God only knows how many letters…Moogle. I looked over at Kupo again.

"Stitch?" Sora reminded me that he was there and I glanced at him. I knew I couldn't do it, but I really wanted to try.

"Mmm…" I knew how to hum, but talking was totally different. Humming always had an 'm' at the beginning, just like 'moogle.' It shouldn't have been as hard as it was…everyone around me had always known how to talk. "Mmmoo…" That was what a cow sounded like, if I remembered right. My school had taken a trip to a farm when I was in second grade, and there had been lots of cows there. Why did these odd thoughts keep coming up?

The spiky-haired boy was watching me intently, eyes so blue I almost choked. Something was wrong with me, and I knew it very well, but I wasn't sure what. I was supposed to be talking, or attempting it. That's why he was looking at me, I knew that, but I forgot completely what I was supposed to be saying, so all that came out was a squeak—like I had choked. He sighed a little and I looked away, cheeks feeling warm again.

"Well…would you rather start with something easier?" He offered.

I shook my head. I didn't want to mess up again. Back in Chicago, I always got in big trouble when I messed up. I wasn't surprised at all when Kupo explained that to Sora, but it threw my theory that he could read my mind into sharp relief.

After a moment, Sora got up. "Alright guys, we should probably get back to the Radiant Garden. Maybe Leon or Merlin can help her out." He announced, offering me his hand before I could get up on my own.

I flinched a little on instinct, as though in my subconscious I thought he might hit me. But when I looked up he smiled reassuringly, and I hesitantly laid my fingers in his palm. He pulled me to my feet easily.

"Man, you don't weigh much, do you?" He commented, making me blush again—I was getting awfully sick of it—and stare at the ground. "Hey, I didn't mean anything bad by that…but it can't be healthy to be as skinny as you are. We should fix that, too."

I shrugged a little; I had never weighed much, even if I did eat. High metabolism ran in my family and I moved around so much that it just went too fast for my eating habits.

He nodded at Kupo. "C'mon, the ship's ready to go." He pulled me along behind him as he went, despite my resisting. I didn't like ships; they made me sick. I looked up at Kupo urgently as he flew along beside us.

"Wait just a second, kupo!" The moogle cried when he caught my glance. I sighed in relief when Sora stopped, even if I did run into him by accident.

The boy looked up at Kupo as I caught my breath. "What? We've gotta get going!" He urged.

Kupo glanced at me, and then back at Sora. "Listen, kupo. Stitch doesn't understand about your gummi ship, kupo, so you'd do well to explain it before you just drag us onto it, kupo."

Sora glanced at me and I nodded to confirm what my "voice" was saying. I imagined that "gummi" was just a word…maybe that was the name of the ship? But when he smiled again and I almost—almost—blushed again, he explained everything. Apparently a gummi ship was like a rocket ship, and it was how they traveled to other places. There was no other way to get to the Radiant Garden place he kept bringing up.

The ship was a little scary at first, but I discovered that as long as I just didn't look out the window I was fine. I watched Kupo clean his shiny things.

He looked up at me from time to time and told me all about each and every one of his treasures. He told me they could be made into different things when synthesized together, and he said he'd make me a cosmic charm out of all the items he'd collected. I smiled and leaned my head against the ship wall, closing my eyes. It had been a l-o-n-g day.

"Stitch…? Stitch, wake up!"

Someone was shaking my shoulder and calling to me, and instinctively I opened my eyes and shot to my feet as though I hadn't been sleeping at all. When I spotted Sora holding up his hands for protection, I relaxed a little. Kupo laughed.

"Sorry, that was…my fault." Sora apologized, pointing behind him. "But we're here."

I looked around at the scenery, expecting to see my mother out there somewhere. Instead, it was like something out of a fairytale. I was wondering if Kupo had been able to tell if I was trying to ask where we where.

"I'm sure, kupo that Stitch is trying to ask where we are exactly, kupo." Kupo said as he floated towards another one of those small gems he was collecting. I wondered what he was collecting them for, but that wasn't a question that Kupo would answer.

Sora looked from me to Kupo and then back to me. "We came here to see if a couple of friends could help us out." Sora said as he reached out his glove covered hand to help me out of the gummi ship.

I was pulled upward quickly and as I was being pulled I had visions of my mother in one of her moods and forcing me to do her meaningless things for her and her friends. I started to feel like I was back home. I had started to feel warm and then my sight became blurry. I knew what was going on because this happened often at my home in Chicago. I was going to black out.

When I awoke, I could hear voices. I could only recognize three of them. I was quick to get up because I didn't recognize my new surroundings.

Scanning everything around me, I caught sight of a computer with a flat screen against one wall and the keyboard jutting out from said wall. The small house was a mess, with books everywhere and an unmade bed, but there was a fireplace that made it seem cozy. I backed up into a corner and sat down beside a pile of books, looking at the five people whom I didn't recognize. Kupo rested on the books.

"Everyone, kupo, this is Stitch." He announced, causing all five of them to look at me. I shrunk down a bit.

There were two girls and two men, plus one old man with a very long beard. One of the men was sitting at the big computer with a toothpick hanging out of one side of his mouth; his hair was short and blonde, like the stubble on his chin, and he had goggles on top of his head. He had one arm resting on the back of his chair, the other one on his leg. The other man had shoulder-length dark brown hair and a scar across the bridge of his nose. His arms were folded over a chain around his neck that had a lion's head as a pendant.

"Stitch, huh? That's an interesting name." The scarred man chuckled a little, his dark blue eyes watching me intently. It was incredibly uncomfortable.

The blonde man spoke up. "Bit scrawny, ain't she?"

I felt my cheeks going hot, but not in the way they did when Sora smiled at me. Suddenly I looked all around urgently. Where was Sora? I remembered hearing his voice when I first woke up, but he wasn't anywhere in the house. I felt tears come to my eyes at the thought that he had really left me here, left me behind.

"Now, now…be nice to her, Cid." The girl with braided brown hair scolded him, smiling warmly at me. She had a pink bow holding the braid in place, and her dress was also pink. She kneeled down in front of me. "Don't mind Cid. He's nice, really. My name's Aerith!" She greeted.

I hugged my knees and nodded a little to show her that I acknowledged, and I appreciated her kindness, but it didn't matter anymore. I was in this strange world, alone save for Kupo.

The other girl, with short black hair and a headband around her forehead, stepped up beside Aerith. She smiled just as sweetly. "And Leon's just a big baby." She announced, Motioning to the man with the scar. He rolled his eyes. "I'm the great ninja Yuffie. It's nice to meet you, Stitch!"

I wiped the heel of my hand over the tear that had just rolled down my cheek. Only one word echoed in my mind, one word that I wanted so badly to say. I mouthed it against my jeans.

"Sss…Sssoo…rrrraaa…" I tried not to think too hard about it this time, because if I did that then I would lose my focus. I knew what I wanted to say, and I was going to say it if it killed me. "So…ra…Sora!" My own voice surprised me, even if it was a little hoarse from not being used in fourteen years. It sounded amazingly older than I really was, maybe by a year or two. But I had done it, I had spoken, and despite myself I was excited about it.

Yuffie and Aerith both took a step back. "Wait a sec; I thought Sora told us that she couldn't talk!" The ninja girl stammered, obviously just as surprised as me.

Aerith smiled again. "Won't he be surprised, then!"

I blinked. So he really hadn't left me behind? "Sora?" I asked, looking over at Leon and Cid.

Leon nodded. "Yeah, he just went to clear the town of Heartless. He asked us to look after you for a little bit." He explained.

My heart instantly came out of my stomach and I couldn't help but smile. He hadn't left me; he really was going to stay with me a little longer. I'd never been this happy before.

Author: Yaaaaay, she said her first word! I'm so proud!! (Clears throat.) Um, right. Okay, honestly, who didn't see that coming? Am I the only one who knew her first word was gonna be Sora? Huh? Glad all my readers like it thus far, and I came up with the name Kupo for that moogle because I thought no one had used that name before.

Then I went to the Underworld in KH2 and talked to the moogle there. Guess what? His name was Kupo. Damn. Anywho, I'll keep posting if you keep reviewing! Toodles!