Chapter 10: Hot Water -or- Know Your Enemy

It took Lilo no time at all in finding Lani, though it wasn't as if she was hiding. The lights on her suit gave her away, all others in the space bar wore dark cloaks and furs that added to the darkness. Lani jumped to Lilo's side, throwing her hands up in towards the smaller girl.

"What are you doing here?" Lani's voice was higher in worry. "I told you to stay in the ship."

"You left, and Mana Doovoo and Welahi thought it was a good idea to help you," Lilo admitted.

"This isn't a safe place for..."

"Who's this now?" the anteater-like male cut Lani off as he examined Lilo. "Hmm...Green aura, skull face. What is your genus?"

"Huh?" Lilo didn't understand him.

"Lay off, Fuery," the altered human female pushed him aside. "Nobody understands your smart talk."

"Actually..."

"Now then, I don't think we've been introduced properly," the alien woman stopped Lani. "I'm Vaarta, Vaarta Thaili. This braniac here is one of my two henchmen,"

"Fuery Wydabe, evil genius mastermind," the male -Fuery- shook their hands.

Although she shook his hand, Lani began to have her doubts about these two. They said being polite was a bad idea, yet here they were welcoming her and Lilo. Something about that didn't sit right with Lani, maybe they wanted to used them for something. Lani wasn't the type to manipulate people, however in this setting she needed to act the part. So she stood to think of a plan, any way that she can get fuel from the two aliens. Then she remembered what Vaarta said, about having more than just Fuery work for her.

Lilo's thoughts were more confused than Lani's, mostly at the word "henchmen". It was then she realized that the bar really wasn't safe, past all the creepy looking aliens that inhabited the bar. She wished she'd stayed in the ship after all, she shouldn't have listened to Mana Doovoo.

"I'm Manahi," Lilo introduced herself falsely.

"She's my second in command, who should have waited with the ship," Lani added, mostly to Manahi\Lilo. "I'm Lumari, rouge of the Gamma Quadrent. We need fuel to leave this rock, either of you know where to find some?"

Before Manahi\Lilo help Lumari\Lani out, she heard something sniff nearby. She looked down to see a creature sniffing at her leg, which caused her to jump behind Lumari\Lani for safety. The creature was the same shade of teal as Vaarta and Fuery's suits, so it was clear they had something to do with each other. The being was komodo dragon-like with six arms and a long tongue, which it used to lick his chops at the sight of Manahi\Lilo. It wore a purple collar around its neck, which Lumari\Lani connected to Vaarta.

Sure enough, Vaarta scooped up the reptile like a pet. Rather, it was her pet the way she doted on him. It was clear to everyone but its own that it wanted to be as far away from her as possible, though it was unknown what caused it to stay.

"Now now, Shmoopie," Vaarta talked to the lifeform like a baby. "Its not dinertime yet, is it? No its not, no its not."

"Its your pet?" Lumari\Lani already knew the answer.

"Yes he is, and the cutest little thing," Vaarta said as the creature hissed under his breath. "His name is Quemira, but I just call him my wittle Shmoopie."

"Right," Manahi\Lilo and Lumari\Lani nodded unsurely.

"Anyway, we need fuel," Lumari\Lani got back on track. "You got any so we can leave?"

"This is a rest stop, you know," Fuery walked back over to the bar. "Grease, we're going to need some diesel."

"Wait right here, I got just what you need," the barkeep nodded to Lumari\Lani.

"Okay, now I have a question," Manahi\Lilo spoke up, even against Lumari\Lani shaking her head. "Do any of you know anything about an experiment named 626?"

The bar grew dead silent at the number, so quiet even the astroid's vermin didn't dare let out a breath. As much tension as the two humans had on them -with the ship out of commission and being in a bar full of villains, excluding being in a bar-, Manahi\Lilo's question brought the feeling of dread to its peak. The criminals circled around them, bringing the two closer together under the worst circumstance. Manahi\Lilo hadn't seen eye to eye with Lumari\Lani for a while, though she was sure they had the same thought now.

"Run?" Manahi\Lilo asked Lumari\Lani.

"Right behind you," Lumari\Lani put her hands up.

Lumari\Lani punched the ground with one of her fists, allowing her power the force everyone away from them. With the other she held Lilo in place, to make sure their escape was easier. If Quemira hadn't jumped in the way of the saloon-stled doors, they would have been off. Instead they turned back around slowly, seeing angry faces stare at them. Manahi\Lilo gulped as Vaarta crossed her arms, walking over to them was a bit of a relief -compaired to having one of the scarier thugs approach them.

"You aren't going anywhere..." Vaarta stopped them.

A/N: This chapter was so long, I didn't even get to introduce Vaarta's second henchmen. Oh well, I need him for the next part anyway. As for Vaarta, Fuery and Quemira, expect to see a lot more of them in the rest of the story. And about not showing Stitch yet, that isn't going to be for a while. There's still so much to cover, and this is only the begining. Heck, I didn't even finish act one yet. This story lasts three, but it'll be a fun trip I can assure you.

Important: Like I wrote yesterday in A New O'hana, don't expect updates to be on time this summer. I'm going on a road trip across America, just the states you can drive to. So since the wifi will be unpredictable, I'll update whenever I can.

Next Time: Still stuck in the bar, Lilo and Lani need a bit more help if they want to escape.