Chapter 7

An Angel Break

Bright. It was bright, way too bright. It felt as though he had just waken from a deep and long slumber. A large figure was slumped over the desk, very into whatever he was doing. Small flecks of light from the window seemed to dance on the ground. Tools of all different shapes and sizes were scattered on the floor below him. Weird beakers contained liquids of a vast majority of colors.

Stitch could still feel the restraints snug around his wrists and ankles. He felt weird, like as light as a feather, yet bulkier. A small moan escaped his lips. Every ounce of energy seemed to have been sucked out of him. His 3rd and 4th arm hung limply at his side. The spikes that ran up and down his spine seemed to tingle, along with his antenna.

The experiment lifted his free arms and undid the latch around one of his wrist. One of his arms gripped the side of the machine so he wouldn't fall when he undid the second wrist. Next Stitch unlatched his feet. After sliding to the ground, Stitch had to steady himself on Jumba's occupied chair. The evil genius had seemed oblivious to Stitch until right now.

"Ah, 626, you're awake," He smiled turning to face Stitch.

Stitch didn't feel strong enough to say anything, so he just nodded. Jumba laughed. He picked up the weak experiment and place him on a bed. Jumba than returned after a moment with many sketches of Stitch. This lead Stitch to wonder how long he'd been out. The sketches seemed to illustrate and explain all his new abilities. Stitch waited a moment to regain his strength.

"What Stitch new pow-," He gasped.

Stitch began to pant. He could have run a marathon and been more energetic. Jumba laughed evilly, though Stitch had no idea why.

"Introducing the new, and improved experiment 626. Able to lift 4,000 times his weight! He can now swim underwater. His spikes will combine into a single fin. His feet and hands will become webbed, making it much easier for him to swim. He will also develop gills on his neck, allowing him to breath under water. But, because his molecular structure must become denser he will become even weaker than originally. Not to mention, now when running, Experiment 626 can reach speeds up to 30 mph! His antenna will create a force field strong enough to endure being struck by lightning, hit by a car, thrown into a volcano, easily and much, much more," Jumba bragged," Lastly, he can shoot fire from his hands."

Stitch flexed his hands, examined them. Could he really shot fire from them? The faint outline of a small circle was barely visible on them. He reached up and pulled his antenna down. The ends were just glowing. It was weird to think of himself with all those new powers, but also cool. Yet, he couldn't help but want more. Yeah, maybe Patch didn't have a force field, but he could breathe fire, breathe ice, shot electricity, and use telekinesis. Stitch knew he should be thankful though, Jumba had given him a lot of cool abilities.

"Stitch tired," He moaned, falling back onto the pillow.

"Ah, yes, it will take a few hours before back to usual self." Jumba explained.

"What Patch powers? Persuasion?" Stitch muttered.

"Ah, yes, persuasion. Never originally intended, but added in later. Another odd one, he influences dreams."

"Not, much of a power," Stitch scoffed.

"Ah, ah ,ah. Dreams are very powerful things. They can change you. You go to sleep one morning, and wake up the next a whole new person. He could change you," Jumba laughed pointing his finger at Stitch.

Stitch swatted it away. Dreams, pff. They didn't matter for basically anything. Yet, in the back of his head, he couldn't help but accept what Jumba had to say. That would explain the dream about the lighthouse. He hoped 627 wouldn't really come back though.

"Can he control during sleep?"

"Only if you make eye contact before going to bed,"

"Ih, Stitch get going,"

"I suggest hanging out away from little girl and 628. He will take advantage of weakness."

"But, where Stitch go?"

"Ah, don't you have other experiments that are your friends?"

Stitch sighed. Right now, he just wanted to hang out with Lilo. He had left her with Patch for too long, and he didn't want his best friend getting hurt. Patch could do very bad things to Lilo. Stitch suddenly realized what a bad friend he had been for leaving her with him. Lilo could easily be hurt.

"Jumba, tell Lilo about Patch?" Stitch begged.

"626, that would not be a wise move,"

"What? Why?"

"If Patch knew little girl knew about his secret, he wouldn't feel safe. This could result in pain for little girl," Jumba sighed.

Stitch pondered on this idea. It was probably true. This thought was also terrifying, because he would never want Lilo to be harmed, but by letting her stay with Patch he was only increasing that risk.

Jumba handed Stitch the drawings and than went back to his desk. Jumba continued to write something. Stitch unrolled the papers, and began to examine them. There were lots of complicated illustrations and a ton of side notes. At the moment, Stitch didn't feel at all like reading, but he raveled them back up. He tapped Jumba's big shoulder and handed it to him. Stitch than walked towards the door.

"Where is 626 going?" Jumba questioned standing up.

Jumba's chair tipped over onto the floor. Stitch stopped walking. Where was he going? He really didn't know, just that he wanted to go somewhere. Stitch needed to get his mind off of Lilo. He also wanted to experiment with what he could now do. Stitch suddenly smiled. He knew exactly where he was going to go.

"To a cousin," He laughed.

Stitch walked through the forest. It wasn't far from here. He'd found that with ever minute, his strength was returning. The quiet rustle or grass or chirp of a bird soothed him. Stitch was feeling pretty good about himself right now. He was more than ready to pound Patch's face in.

A small stream of smoke touched the sky close by. It wasn't very far away. Stitch quickened his pace, heading straight towards the smoke. As he grew closer a small pink cottage was visible. The smoke wisped from the chimney. The lights from inside the house were visible. It looked very cozy and comfy .

"Angel!" Stitch called.

A figure in the window raised their head and turned it towards Stitch. The door swung open. A pink feminine looking Stitch waved. Angel ran towards Stitch. A small smile formed on Stitch's face. He opened up his arms, and the two hugged.

"Botchi-boo," She cooed.

A fake smile was plastered on her lips. Behind it was worry and fear. Stitch wondered what was wrong. His own smile dropped. Angle realized he saw past her act and also dropped the smile.

"What is it?" Stitch asked in their native language.

"Sparky," Angel sighed.

She rubbed the back of her neck uncomfortably. Sparky? He was here? That didn't make any sense. Patch had kidnapped him, and probably turned him into a zombie. Stitch felt guilty for not looking for his cousin sooner. He had to get an upgrade though, it was the only way to defeat Patch. Was he actually here, or had Angel been brainwashed too. He would just have to trust her for now.

"Is he okay?" Stitch asked worried.

"Well… Kind of." Angel bit the inside of her cheek.

Angel grabbed Stitch's hand. Despite the circumstances, he felt a tingle go up his spine. She lead him back to her house. Stitch could vividly remember helping build the small pink cottage. It had taken him about a month, but he didn't mind. If it meant making a safe place for Angel, he would do it a million times. The air inside the cottage was warm.

A small fire flickered in the fire pit. Laying close to it was a very beaten up looking Sparky. His left eye was swollen shut. His fur was matted and bloody. Sparky seemed to either be in a deep restless sleep, or unconscious. Cuts and scraps seemed to be all over the poor experiment. Stitch didn't like seeing his cousin like this in the least bit. A small blanket was pulled half way up his torso and an icepack rested on his arm.

Stitch reached out a hand to Sparky, and then pulled it back. He had been the one who'd caused Sparky this much pain. Guilt swept over him. He wasn't good at all, so far today, he'd nothing good. Angel was watching him anxiously. She gently put a hand on his shoulder. Besides Angel, Sparky was Stitch's closet cousin.

"Stitch…" Angel trailed off.

Stitch could see the sympathy in her eyes. She cared for Sparky too, like a brother. Stitch just didn't understand why or how Sparky got here. Did Patch put him here, or did Sparky get away? He wished he could talk to Sparky, but Stitch didn't want to walk him up. Angel walked off to the kitchen. In a few moments she returned with a tray. Coffee and coconut cake along with some records were on it.

Angel set the tray down on a table, and plopped down on a small light pink couch. Stitch sat down next to her. Sparky was laying on a bed made up of spare blankets and pillows. Stitch felt very grown up drinking his coffee. Well, more like chugging his coffee. He wanted to act proper around Angel to make her like him more.

"What happened to Sparky?" Stitch asked.

"Well, I just found him pounding at my door. I was so surprised by his state that I didn't even think twice about what had happened. After I made him up a bed and helped him I asked. All he would talk about was this Patch." Angel explained to Stitch in their native language.

Stitch nodded. He really didn't feel like talking about Sparky anymore, it just made him feel bad. He changed the subject. The two talked and hung out for about an hour. Stitch really enjoyed hanging out with Angel. It was nice to talk to a fellow experiment. Angel even showed Stitch some of her new songs. She looked so pretty when she sang.

Stitch was now on his way back home. He hoped Lilo was okay with Patch. He felt like such an idiot for leaving her home along with him. It felt as though Stitch had regained all of his strengths. He had paused early to test out his new powers and they worked. The Pelekia residence was pretty close by. Stitch decided to run there, going around 30 mph. It felt good to be this strong, not second best anymore.

Stitch opened up the door. He could hear Lilo talking in the kitchen to Patch. Good, she was okay. Stitch climbed to the top of the ceiling. The door slammed behind him. Lilo looked back at the door. No one was there.

"Stitch?" Lilo called hopefully.

Stitch crawled into the kitchen. Lilo looked like she was wrapping something. She looked up straight at him. Her mouth hung slightly open. Her eyes suddenly narrowed and she covered what she was going with her arms.

"Stitch! Get out of here! You can't see your birthday present!" Lilo scolded.

Patch stared up at Stitch. He didn't look angry for once, just slightly surprised to see him. Stitch smiled and left the room. It was nice that Lilo still care for him. Or at least enough to get him a present. Stitch waited patiently in the living room flipping through channels.

"Okay Stitch, You can come in," Lilo yelled.

Stitch switched off the T.V. He tossed the remote onto the couch and walked into the kitchen. Lilo had tucked the present under her arm. She was smiling at Stitch. Stitch gladly returned it. He glanced at the present beneath her arm. He couldn't help but be curious as to what it held inside of it.

"Now Stitch, I'm going to go hid this present. You stay in here. No peeking," Lilo explained exiting the room.

It was just Stitch and Patch. Stitch glanced at Patch. He didn't really seem to care that Stitch was in the same room as him. It was like he had changed, or maybe just acting. Maybe he really did change, than Stitch wouldn't have to dehydrate him. Patch looked at Stitch, and strangely enough, smiled at him

"Hey, look. I know we got off on the wrong foot. I just wanted to make it up to you. We went surfing this afternoon, and Lilo said you really liked it. I was thinking maybe later today we could all go surfing," Patch suggested.

This was really weird. Stitch just stared at him. He looked completely and totally sincere. Was he just really trying to trick him into getting in the water? Well, he was water proof now. Anyways, he couldn't really decline the offer. Lilo would be angry with him.

"Ah, yeah. Sounds like a plan," Stitch smiled.

So, like all Stitch's cool new powers? He may actually stand a chance against 628. In the following chapters things between Stitch and Patch really start to heat up. Please review!