Chapter 9: Insert Frozen Joke Here
"Wakey wakey,sweetie," I heard as I struggled to open my eyes. I woke up to realize that I had slept next to Oscar wearing nothing but my panties. Oh, and we took shelter in a cave Digger made for us. If Nani ever gets word about this, she's going to kill me then use some voodoo to bring me back to life, then kill me again. "Woah someone looks cranky…"
"I'm not cranky," I mumbled, rubbing the sleep off my eyes and deciding to leave my worries alone for now, "I was just worried about Nani. I haven't come home yesterday, and if she finds out about us…"
"We're super dead meat,huh?" Oscar asked, scratching his head.
"Yeah…super…" I stood up,put my dress back on, and walked towards the CaveQuarters' entrance. The blizzard had weakened to just light snowing, and the hot tropical sun is helping the snow from yesterday melt away. It was slightly warmer and I assumed that I could go out even without winter clothes. I actually had a good night's sleep, I thought, considering that I just slept in a cave next to a man who was somewhere between hopeless romantic and potential sex predator.
To my surprise, there were winter clothes for me and Oscar prepared by the entrance to the cave.
"I woke up early and checked if we could contact Jumba," Oscar said with a light smile. "The buggy managed to contact him, I asked for some clothes, and he sent some."
"Cool." I grinned, even though Oscar tends to act like a creep, he's still surprisingly responsible. I took my clothes off again and started getting in my winter clothes,when I noticed him looking at me with a smug smile on his face. "What?"
"Nothing," He said,looking away still smiling, "I just never thought I'd get to see you naked even once, now it looks like I'll get to see you a lot. Or should I say, I'll get to see a lot of you."
Typical,I thought, and just stuck a tongue at him, wondering if this was how life is with a boyfriend. Now that I think about it, I kind of made him my boyfriend last night,huh?
"By the way," Oscar spoke up,breaking my train of thought, "Jumba also said that he would send us back-up against Slushy. Who's 619 and 609?"
"Um, Splody and Heat, I think…" I said, still slightly groggy from sleep. "Did Jumba say anything about Nani?"
"Oh yeah, Jumba said, and I quote," He then started mimicking Jumba, "Big sister is very furious about little girls sleepover, she'll be on the way to little girl's bestfriend after work."
I couldn't help but giggle with Oscar's Jumba impersonation, but I was worried that Nani would get even more furious that I wasn't actually having a surprise sleepover at Victoria's. Oh well, cross that bridge when we get there, I thought.
We went outside just in time to see Splodyhead and Heat arrive, they were teleported by Wafty(a green beaver-like experiment that can transport anyone in seconds). Splody was a pig-dog experiment with four legs who can shoot fireballs from his huge hole-like nose. Heat was a dog-looking experiment with a dark gem on his forehead that releases a strong heat wave. I'm not an expert or anything, but I know these cousins by heart.
Wafty left right after transporting Splody and Heat, and we told them what the current situation is. They could both understand us, but was not capable of vocal ability to reply so they just nodded and smiled at us to agree.
"So," Oscar said with a grin, "Time to put Slushy back in his place?"
"Yep," I answered, and it was the first time we did a high five. "Rockahula."
So the good news is, we found Stitch and Slushy.
The bad news is, Stitch is currently encased in a large block of ice, and Slushy is now trying to do the same to us. Me and Oscar split up, with Splody running with me and Oscar is with Heat. Instead of an Ice Mountain Fortress like Slushy did before when he was just activated, this time his hideout was under a frozen pond. The pond now looked like some kind of underwater aquarium/park thing with all the twists and turns. On any other day, this place could be fun, but right now, we were running and hiding from an experiment that would imprison us in ice with no hesitation.
"We just need to get the jump on him, Splody," I told the cousin I was running with, "Then you blast him until we can put him into a container."
Splodyhead nodded, and we kept running while pausing every now and then to see if Slushy was nearby.
The surroundings were quiet, so me and Splody slowed down and listened closely. Wherever Slushy is, we can't let him get us off guard.
"I can't hear him or see him anywhere," I whispered, "I wonder if he's close to Oscar…"
"FUUUUUUCK…" I screamed at the top of my lungs as an evil ice-creature chased me and Heat in this god-forsaken ice cave, "…THIIIIIIISSSSS!"
Ice beam here.
Ice beam there.
I've been dodging rays of ice beams ever since Slushy saw us try to sneak up on him. Now I feel like I'm in some kind of Resident Evil chase level where a single misstep means game over.
Unfortunately, I made a single misstep.
And slipped on the ice.
I thought I heard Oscar scream. Since he sounded a little far away, me and Splody had to run carefully to check if he was with Slushy. Trying to be fast, I had no choice but to run slowly in this ice, otherwise I would slip and end up like a penguin on ice.
Oh look, I saw Oscar. And he was just like a penguin on ice. He was slippin' and slidin' his way through the place, with Slushy right behind trying to freeze him. I don't know if he was that good or just purely lucky, but Oscar somehow manages to dodge every blast of ice from Slushy.
He saw me looking, and even though panic was written all over his face, he managed to grin and wink at me. Heat was right behind him and Slushy, trying to hit Slushy with his heat rays. I saw one of Heat's attacks hit Slushy, but Slushy just shrugged it off like it was nothing. Slushy turned around, leaving Oscar alone, and blasted Heat with an ice beam, freezing him in place.
"Splody," I said to the one next to me, "Let's go help them!"
It was the only thing Splodyhead was waiting for, he instantly ran and sort of skated towards Slushy for a fight. I remember the first time Slushy was activated and was being used by Gantu. Splody was the only one that could go toe-to-toe with the ice experiment.
Slushy saw Splody and they glared at each other. The two elemental experiments looked at each other like cowboys in a duel. Splody took the first shot, inhaling and blowing out raging flames like a dragon. Slushy answered with a freezing breath, the collision of fire and ice caused an explosion in between the two opponents. Slushy charged at Splody,but Splody jumped up in a summersault. Splody blew a fireball at Slushy in mid-air, but Slushy just took it like it doesn't hurt.
"What?!" I shouted ,as surprised as Splody to see that Slushy didn't even melt a bit after being hit by a fireball.
"OOF!" I heard someone crash by the wall behind me, and saw Oscar struggling to stand up, I helped him up and he said, "Maybe his evolution makes his ice unmeltable or immune to fire."
"Nyahahaha!" Slushy laughed like a villain. Splody was giving his best flamethrower attack,but Slushy just stood there without flinching.
Slushy looked as if he was about to blast Splody with an ice beam. As expected, he blew a freezing breeze towards Splodyhead, freezing him instantly.
At least,he would've been frozen had Oscar not slide quickly to save him. Just in the nick of time, Oscar managed to carry Splody out of harm's way and they both slid straight to another wall. Now both of them were cornered at a wall by Slushy.
"Alright, all I have to do is try the same shit I pulled off with Clyde," Oscar said, looking worried but grinning a fake grin. "Alright Explodyhead," he hugged Splody really close and closed his eyes tightly, "let's merge!"
I waited excitedly to see what would happen, at the same time preparing to shield my eyes from the bright light that he might emit just like last time.
But nothing happened.
Me and Oscar looked at each other in horror, knowing that we just wasted our trump card. Slushy laughed again and blasted Oscar and Splody with an ice beam.
"NO!" I screamed as I watch the two of them become encased in a block of ice. I dropped to my knees in defeat, cursing our luck while thinking of a way out. I could run away, but I might not be able to outrun Slushy. And if I run, how would I come back to save them all?
Maybe Jumba will have something that can help,I thought as I started running towards the highest point in the cave. The place used to be a pond and was below ground level, meaning I also have to climb out in order to escape.
I don't know how long I ran, what I know was that it wasn't enough. Before I could even get that far, Slushy skated in front of me, riding his own ice beam. He was giggling in a way that made me uncomfortable, and I struggled to turn around and run to the other direction. I slipped and fell on my butt, the slippery surface of the ice making it hard to stand back up.
"Oh no…" was all I could say as Slushy looked at me with evil intent. He was preparing a snowball in his hand,and grinned at me as he threw it my way.
I closed my eyes and hoped the freezing process would be painless.
I waited, but I felt nothing. I opened my eyes to see that I was never hit by the freezing snowball. Slushy was glaring at something else besides me, and I followed his stare to see…
Oscar…and Splody.
They finally managed to merge, or combine, or whatever. Unlike last time, he didn't have any metallic limb. His veins still glowed, but it was more red/orange-ish this time. His nose was missing, and a huge nearly triangular hole was all I see in its place. It was kind of like looking at a skull with skin, and his nose-hole-thing was steaming with smoke on its side. Every time he breathes, fire seem to blow out of his nose-hole. If I didn't know that he got the look from Splody, I'd think I was looking at some horror movie villain.
"This feels weird," he said in his trance-like voice, his eyes glowing white again, "Inhale…"
He drew his breath in, and his torso started glowing like a smaller sun,light emitting through his shirt. He glanced at me and I somehow figured out his plan, so I ran from Slushy as soon as I can.
"EXHAAAALE!" He said as he blew a large billow of flame from his nose-hole, engulfing Slushy. If I hadn't got out of the way, I would have been burned too.
I thought Slushy had already been defeated by the Oscar-Splody's flamethrower, but I saw parts of the flame turn to smoke and Slushy coming out while fighting back with his own ice beam. The fire and ice clash kept going for a minute or two, but I noticed Oscar was beginning to run out of breath. It was obvious that if Slushy doesn't manage to fight back, the flames from Oscar-Splody were strong enough to knock him out, now all I need to do is get his attention…
Too late, Oscar ran out of breath and had to roll to the side in order to avoid Slushy's ice beam.
"Well…" He said,catching his breath while actively trying to dodge Slushy's attacks, "…that was breathtaking."
"This isn't the time for puns!" I shouted at him, looking around for anything I could use to help.
"Sorry!" He shouted back, using quick exhales to hurl fireballs at Slushy. The fire from Oscar-Splody was a lot stronger than before, actually hurting Slushy this time around.
I saw Stitch still frozen in his ice-cubey cage, and pointed Oscar toward him. If anytone can defeat Slushy or at least keep him occupied, it's Stitch.
"Got it!" He replied, sprinting towards Stitch's location. He didn't seem to have any trouble in the ice at all, and after a good sprint he just skated like he knew how to skate. Wherever his feet were, the ice was lightly melting and looked like it was sweating wherever he stepped. Slushy was hot on his trail, so I needed to buy them enough time until Stitch had been freed.
"Hey Slushy!" I shouted and the icey experiment turned to me angrily, "Why don't pick on someone your own size…literally!"
Okay, that was kind of a pun, I mean me and Slushy were the same height when you think about it. I don't know if it was the lame joke or something else, but Slushy looked angrily at me and started skating my way.
Great,now what?, I thought as I scampered away from the angry and evolved experiment sliding my way. I kept running, still careful not to slip…
…and I slipped. Great.
I could feel my shoes lose contact with the ice, as I involuntarily flip upwards. The next thing I expected to feel was the cold landing of my butt on the ice.
But what I felt instead was a furry feeling that I've felt many times before.
Something caught me. Something…fluffy.
"STIIITCH!" I screamed in delight as me and my best friend(and practically brother) were finally reunited once again.
"Miss me?" Stitch grinned as he put me down on my feet. He then glared at Slushy, who returned the hostility, "Slushy…" They growled at each other like beasts fighting over territory, "…FEEBOOGOO!"
Stitch leaped high in the air, gracefully avoiding Slushy's ice beam, and tackled him on the ground. Before Slushy could recover, Stitch grappled him and threw him toward a wall. Slushy managed to recover in mid-air and avoided the wall, landing back on his feet with an arrogant smirk. Before he knew it though, Oscar was actually waiting , being too focused on Stitch, didn't stand a chance as Oscar-Splody blew flaming hot breath all over him.
Within seconds, Slushy was knocked out, just a dazed puddle on the frozen surface of the cave. While Oscar-Splody was busy freeing Heat from his ice cage, Stitch scooped Slushy up and into an experiment container.
As I helped Stitch put Slushy's container back in the buggy, I wondered if I should tell Stitch about Oscar and me. Stitch was like my brother, and I just know he hasn't completely warmed up to Oscar yet.
"Stitch," I muttered, and felt a little lost for words as he looked curiously at me, "What do you think of Oscar?"
"Oscar is ok…" Stitch replied, and sat on the passenger seat with his feet on dashboard, "But Stitch don't trust Oscar."
"But…" I said, wondering how I should put it. Stitch had a mind like a supercomputer, but I knew well enough that you still had to explain to him like he was a child. "Remember when we first met Angel, and I didn't trust her?"
"Ih!" He grunted, slightly cheery at hearing his girlfriend's name. "Boojiboo..."
"Well, it's kind of like that with Oscar," I continued, my hands were making random gestures like a teacher, "Oscar's…, well, he's my boojiboo now…kind of."
"HUHHHH?!" Stitch shouted with surprise, his claws pulling his long ears down. He looked like an actor in a sitcom overreacting to something. He calmed down a bit, "Lilo," he said looking concerned, "Could be dangerous."
"He's not dangerous," I said, checking if Oscar was already out of the cave, but he wasn't yet, "He saved my life many times too. He's good."
"Oh," Stitch whimpered like a puppy, then looked up at me, "Hope you're right."
All of a sudden, the communication screen of the buggy lit up.
"Ah! 626 and little girl!" Jumba exclaimed cheerfully, "626, heard you were following a strange new experiment?"
"Ih!" He replied, then his ears drooped down, "But he got away."
"We can find him later," Jumba said, "But evil genius research has pinpointed possible cause of different phenomena. Like the other Earth and the evolved or new experiments."
"New experiments?!" I asked,half-worried that we're in danger again,half-excited for all the new cousins we can befriend. Provided they don't kill us,of course. "That sounds cool!"
"626 said he was chasing one," Jumba continued, "It's possible that whole phenomenon that caused other Earth also caused new experiments to appear, and also the evolution of experiments. "
"So you've pinpointed the possible cause?"
"Haha! Yes of course, I am evil genius!" Jumba guffawed, then realized something and quieted down, "But it's kind of good news bad news."
The merging and unmerging process was exhausting, but I was able to hold out longer this time. I don't know how I did it, but I found myself unmerging with Splody as we finished freeing Heat. I was less out of breath after this one compared to last time with Clyde. For a few moments a while ago, I felt what it was like to be Voldemort, to have no nose. I still don't know what's going on with my body, but I won't deny that it felt awesome. As I walked outside, I wondered what it would be like to merge with Stitch. Will I get blue fur,like Beast from the X-Men; will I get claws or two extra limbs? Who knows, so far I can only merge with an experiment if I really really will it in my subconscious.
The warmth of the original Hawaiian climate was very welcome to me. I hated the cold, and I have never been so happy to end the snow. As I got out, I noticed that Stitch and Lilo were waiting for me by the X-Buggy.
Problem was, they look pissed.
"What's the matter guys?" I asked warily, wondering why they look mad.
"I trusted you." Lilo said with a cold voice.
"What are you…" I began to ask as I got closer to her, but Stitch blocked and prevented me from getting any closer.
"Jumba figured out the 'cause of all these weird stuff going on…," she said pointing to the other Earth.
The way she looked at me, I could almost guess what she was going to say next, and I dreaded the possibility of it.
"…it was you. You brought this on us."
