Ten Chances) Chapter Twelve: The Times We Had
Every step I take echoes in these rusted halls...
A cold, nostalgic wind brushes past, sending shivers down my spine.
I close my eyes as I continue to walk, trying to shut everything out of my sight.
I don't want the memories to come back...I can't let them...
"Are we there yet?" 629 crosses his arms, growing impatient. "We've been walking here forever..."
I look down to the floor, practically dragging my feet as we walk. "I know..." I glance up at the wall. It seems that...the further we go, the more the place becomes what it really is today. After all these years...nothing seems better. The walls are rusted, some parts cracked and other parts have holes. This place is terrible.
Scanning the walls as we walk, I pause at a rusty sign. "...H-1."
629 raises an eyebrow. "Huh?"
"H-1...that's the entrance to...Hamsterviel's lab..." I explain, sighing. "Going straight from here will take us to a four-way intersection. From there..." I glance at 629, who watches me with a mixture of expectation and curiosity. "W-Well...going down the East Wing will take us to the old rooms."
629 nods patiently, then looks at me with the expectation that I lead him there.
I sigh and continue walking. The whole place continues to rot the further in we go. It's creating a feeling of nostalgia, one that bothers me deeply inside.
When we arrive to the East Wing, 629 glances down the hall, and back to me. "Which room is it?"
I don't reply verbally, instead I just continue walking, going to the fifth room on the right, 629 trailing behind me.
"This one?" 629 nods, "Looks cozy, let's go inside."
I glance to the right side of the entrance to the room, a control panel to open the door. It's just out of my reach, so I turn to 629 and look down. "I-I...I can't reach."
629 grunts. "That's your excuse?" He walks over to the panel and activates the opening mechanism.
The entrance, a simple sheet of glass, raises into the air, leaving the room open. Dust swirls around as the glass pane rises, I can't help but sneeze a little.
629 walks inside the room, then turns around and glares at me.
I walk quickly inside behind him, then stop at his side, my hands shaking.
"So." 629 says, loud in tone, it startles me a little, sending shivers down my spine. "Tell me about it."
I gulp and nod, closing my eyes a bit to collect my thoughts. "W-Well..." I open my eyes and look around. "Everything's so...dusty...I don't know what to say..."
629 rolls his eyes and snaps his fingers. All the dust flies around us like crazy. I cover my eyes to protect them from the tornado.
"Well, this looks very nice." 629 comments.
I lower my arms and look around. My room...it's...not only all clean from the dust, but all the rusty and decaying things are renewed.
"So, tell me about it." 629 repeats himself.
The bed in this room, so much softer than the other. All the walls are polished and their pure white tint again. I have no words to tell him how...stunned I am. "It's just like how it used to be..." I manage to say.
629 frowns. "More details maybe. How about that picture on the wall?"
I look over, just above my bed is a small picture taped to the wall. I bite my slips to keep words from falling out of my mouth, but my eyes can't hold back the tears.
"That's before you were sent to Jumba's lab." 629 nods, examining the photograph. "You, and several other failure experiments, first came to this lab. Hamsterviel was your caretaker, and...he treated you much better than Jumba treated the experiments under his own care. Hamsterviel treated you with respect and care, but Jumba treated the experiments as tools, weapons, things without lives. They've been disciplined to think that their lives meant nothing in comparison to his, and your life was worth even less. I understand now, they bullied you because they wanted you to be beneath them so they could feel better about themselves, isn't that it?"
I just can't manage anything to say anymore. It hurts inside, memories that squeeze my heart.
"And you wish that you could go back to that time when you loved being yourself." 629 looks at me, his tone softer. "Even today...you still hate being you, even after everything's over."
I nod slowly. "I...wish I could do it again..."
"Hmm?" 629 raises an eyebrow.
"I want to redo it. I want to live a better life..." I sit on the bed and look down. "Is that why you wanted me to show you this? You wanted me to admit it, right? I hate myself, I'm a coward, a freak, a nobody. I let my anger control me and I've hurt so many people that I care about..."
629 smiles lightly. "Maybe a little bit. I mean, just to make you really regret your life choices for when I come in, hehe~"
That makes me wince a little bit. I'm not sure what for exactly, was it the fact that he still wants to kill me? Or maybe because he just wants to rub in how much I've failed in life? It really bugs my mind, however.
629 then chuckles and taps his claws together. "Okay, so how about you show me...some of the tests you've been in?"
So far, the plan's been working smoothly. The boss has been keeping 523 occupied, now I have his memory banks to work with. Practically anything in his mind is mine for the keeping, secrets, fears, weaknesses. With that information, 629 will know how and when to strike, what ticks off 523, what will lure him into a death trap, so many options...
But that's not what he's looking for. We will resort to those if what we want to do won't work out. Plan A to Plan B, but even then...this task he's given me is...difficult.
It's not so easy to persuade someone into doing things like these, after all.
Hmm...an idea has come across my own mind just now.
Since I'm here, I should make my stay more comfortable, maybe more fun.
After all, I can't pass the opportunity to toy with one's mind.
It seems that when I arrived, I came to the dreamscape just as 629. I don't want 523 to be distracted of his distraction, perhaps visiting his 'Imagination Land' would do well. The place where the sweet dreams come from, I'll make them even sweeter, hehe.
All it takes is a brief drift for me to arrive, effortless. 523's mind hasn't been expanded all too much past beyond realistic thinking, a sign that his imagination is dying. I can even see it here, presented in front of me. I've practiced my powers on my companions before, and I know how the generic mind should look like, and based on this...523 has been running low on things to dream about.
That's my fault, isn't it? After all I am the one responsible for corrupting his dreams, and also for sending in 629 to nag at him.
Anyways, let's see what little imagination he has left for himself.
I drift in a little more towards the imagination hub, and a blanket of light takes me in. A meadow of golden grass fades in gently.
It's quite beautiful, I'll admit.
Birds are singing, flowers are blooming...
The trees leaves, though really greenish in color, reflect gold from the sun.
It's small, but a very peaceful paradise. Just a little pinch left of a place of comfort, a little something to help him believe. For me to ruin this would be too far...
But then again, who ever said evildoers never go too far?
What should I do first?
A fire...a storm...a flood, so many options...
Solar looked around in awe. "Woah, this place is like an ice fortress!"
Splodyhead took a few steps forward and crossed his arms. "So...where exactly are we?"
"Naga matter." Stitch waved his left hand, then pointing forwards. "Cousin this way! We get him!"
Sparky raised an eyebrow. "Which cousin? And...how do you know that either one is ahead?"
"Generic statement." Stitch lowered his arm. "Meega means that experiment we need is somewhere."
Solar took notice to each experiment's set of equipment. Headphones with speakers, as well as a sleek black suit. There was also a sort of watch with a timer, steadily counting down. "What's with the getup? And...I guess these timers will tell us when it's time to leave?"
Splodyhead examined his own outfit. "Seems kinda like we're in an action movie, and...I'd assume that these are the timers that...time us...for how much time we've been here..." He looked forward, shaking his head. "Let's not take too long to chat here, we need to get that experiment and hurry back fast before we get stuck here!"
"Right." Sparky nodded. "Any plans on where to go?"
"Heck, it's the first time I've been in someone else's brain, ask Stitch." Splodyhead gestured to Stitch. "He's been in Lilo's head, maybe he has an idea."
"Jumba said this was different." Sparky crosses his arms, lowering his eyebrows in concentration. "Something along the lines of... 'Experiment minds are much more complex than humans.' You know? Maybe even Stitch's past experience won't help at all. It's been years too."
Stitch tilted his head to raise an ear. "Meega listen for commotion."
"Huh?" Solar blinked.
"Meega listen for cousin, maybe we find him?"
"Oh."
After a brief moment of silence, Stitch looked upright again. "Meega heard two voices."
"Who?" Splodyhead asked, this statement catching his attention in a rather urgent manner. "Was one of them Slushy?"
Stitch nodded. "But, meega not recognize the second voice. And, was very faint. Can't make out conversation."
"Was it 632?" Solar asked. "It's gotta be, right? He's the only one it could be...what if he's trying to break his mind or something?!"
"Or maybe Slushy's tryin' to persuade him to be good!" Sparky suggested with optimism. "We won't know until we go and see, right?"
"Ih, we go now." Stitch started walking.
"Go where?" Splodyhead followed behind, dumbfounded. "You expect us to just walk around until we find 'em? That's gonna take forever!"
Solar and Sparky then trailed behind, looking at each other and shrugging.
"U-Uh...w-what tests?" I bite my lip. "I-I don't remember any-"
"Stop lying." 629 glares at me. "You're only lying to yourself if you insist on it. You and I both know about the tests."
I gulp and nod, silently.
"If you won't show me, I'll drag you with me." 629 grabs my left arm, tugging me towards him. "Capiche?"
I shake my arm a little bit, but he won't let go. I look up at him. "H-Hey...c-can't I...?"
629 squeezes his grip. "Can't you what now?"
My arm feels like it's going to be ripped off any second. "C-Can't I...h-have my arm...n-not squeezed?"
629 snorts and chuckles lightly.
"W-What?" I say, my voice softer.
He pushes me back rather roughly, causing me to loose my balance and fall on the ground. He then walks over to me, arms crossed, a grin growing across his face. He stops and looks directly at me, staring me down until I can't get closer to the ground. "Sure."
I blink, closing my eyes and nodding.
"But!"
Something squeezes around my neck, I open my eyes sharply.
"I'm gonna have to be the leader now, m'kay? Just follow me, that's all."
629 placed a leash on me, I see now. It's too tight, so I attempt to loosen it a bit. 629 leans over and swats my hands away.
"Ah-ah-ah~" He waves his pointer finger. "Bad experiment. Don't touch the leash."
"It's...t-t-too tight." My voice shakes and croaks, I can't breath well.
"Too tight? Too bad. Get up, 523."
I stand up slowly, legs shaking.
"Good." 629 smiles with satisfaction. "Come along now, we're going to see the tests."
"B-But..."
629 ignores me and starts to walk, tugging the leash to get me to follow him.
We walk back towards the four-way intersection, then across to the West Wing. We continue walking forward until 629 stops at the eighth door to the left.
I glance up at the sign, it being written in Tantalog just as the rest. 'W-116.'
629 opens the door and tugs me to follow along inside. The door closes behind us, shut loudly.
This is something I don't remember...
629 reaches for the light switch, the room flickers to life, a chartreuse aura surrounding something in front of us.
It's a tube of some sort, filled with some strange ooze.
I look over at 629. "I-I think we're in the wrong room. I don't remember anything about this, h-honest!"
629 looks around the room, ignoring me again. "Gotta find a good view..."
"A-A view of?"
No response.
629 looks under a desk. "Hmm, perfect." He walks towards it, tugging me along. He then sits under the desk, getting a full view of the room. "The show's about to start."
"W-What show?"
"Shh." 629 pats the ground besides him. "Sit."
I sit down and look to where he is looking at, the door. "W-What are we looking for?"
"You said you didn't remember anything about this place, so I'm refreshing your little brain cells." 629 puts his pointer finger up to my mouth. "Now hush, okay?" He lowers his hand and looks back to the door.
The door then opens again, Hamsterviel walks inside with a key in his hand. He sets the key on the desk, using a stool to help him up. "It's still a prototype...but I think it will do the trick!"
Jumba walks inside, having to squeeze his way through the door gap. He's carrying something, but from this angle I can't see anything between those brawny arms except something blue...
"What went wrong?" Jumba asks himself.
Hamsterviel looks over, hearing the question. "I checked things over with the scans...he's missing the DNA composition you had made. That's why his body is struggling to keep him alive right now, it was expecting to be different...but now it seems it can't adapt."
"But that cannot be right! Jumba wouldn't make such foolish mistake!" Jumba defends himself.
"Regardless..." Hamsterviel walks over to the tube-like thing and puts up a ladder besides it.
Jumba looks down at the thing he was carrying, eyes squinting slightly. "If it doesn't work..." He looks up and chuckles lightly. "Let's just recycle it and try to make it again, ehh? Nobody will find out, and he would never know, hasn't ever even opened eyes yet anyways, Jumba surely doubts he has a working conscience."
Hamsterviel glares at Jumba with disapproval.
"Okay, okay." Jumba rolls his eyes. "Let's scrap the DNA and move on to 524, nobody will know. There are too many experiments to be counting anyways."
"Is that how much you care about your own creations?" Hamsterviel doesn't even look at Jumba. He opens the top of the tube and does work with a panel he pulls besides him. "You treat them like tools, Jumba."
"Tools to be conquering galaxy, exactly." Jumba shrugs. "They're my creations."
"They're living beings, Jumba. And you're corrupting them all! If you didn't want to consider their own minds, you should've made androids or something."
"But robotics is more complicated..." Jumba frowns. "Have to program every little thing! Experiments only be programmed with simple command and knowledge of how to use powers, everything else they can do by themselves. They can walk, speak, take care of themselves...that doesn't have to be programmed into them like with ridiculous robotics."
Hamsterviel then climbs down the ladder and walks over to Jumba. "So you're saying that the perfect experiment would have the behaviors of a robot that you could command without question?"
"Haha, yes." Jumba smiles. "Would be perfect for evil genius."
Hamsterviel puts his hands on his hips, staring at Jumba, his red eyes beaming. "I can't believe the things you do sometimes." He then sighs and looks down. "It makes me question a lot of things, Jumba."
Jumba then drops the thing he was carrying into Hamsterviel's arms. "Good, please to be questioning how to deal with this...thing. I have experiments to tend to, real experiments." Jumba then exits the room, closing the door behind him.
That thing that Jumba was carrying...I can see it now because Hamsterviel's arms are much smaller and less brawny, not to mention how he's also shorter and easier for me to see.
But...that thing...is me. A much younger one. It makes me wonder...how early in my life did this happen? Jumba said I haven't even opened my eyes once? It's scary the more I think about it...
Hamsterviel carries younger me up the ladder, placing a gas mask on me. It might be an oxygen mask, I'm not so sure. Afterwards, he gently lowers me into the tube, then closes the lid and walks over to a computer stationed besides it. He modifies the environment of the tube, changing the temperature and the intensity of light. Then opens a prompt and starts to program something. A scan initiates inside the tube, a green ring of light streaming down. A beep indicates the end of the scan, and a graph of my body is displayed.
"What's he doing?" I look over at 629.
"Saving your life." 629 replies, simply.
"W-Wha-?"
"Shush."
I look over towards Hamsterviel again. He launches the program.
Wires with suction cups attach to various parts of younger-me's body. There is a slight twitch, and Hamsterviel looks up quickly. After nothing else happened, he sighs and looks down. There are ten cups placed; one on each of my legs and arms, one on the front of my chest, two on my back, and three on my head. Each cup appears as a white circle on the graph. Hamsterviel then selects the cups on my head and a prompt opens up, giving him a reading of...something. Maybe my brain activity...
I look back to 629 again. "I still don't get it."
629 sighs and looks over at me. "He's trying to give you a...jump-start, let's say. Because you're missing that key DNA, your body is confused and needs help with finding its way."
That summarization didn't completely answer my question. "I-I meant specifically...what's with the machine?"
"Do you ever stop asking questions? Why is it so hard for you to...just understand things?" 629 rolls his eyes.
"I...I'm sorry..."
629 sighs and snaps his fingers, the scene fast-forwards extremely fast. Hamsterviel leaves and enters the room, Jumba drops by every once in awhile...but no experiments are around. At one point Jumba came in with a vial with a weird, dark, goopy substance. Hamsterviel attached it to a plug in the gas mask, small doses administered cautiously over time. What is that thing?
Every time Hamsterviel prepares to leave, he leaves a tally mark on a small whiteboard next to the computer. Back and forth, time and time again, another tick, another one, and another one. As he exits, he flicks the lights off. With this speed, the lights are flashing, it's starting to hurt my eyes. After a minute or two, 629 snaps his fingers again, resuming real-time speed. Hamsterviel is once again at the computer, doing the same thing he's been doing for who knows how long. He sighs and looks up towards the door, a clock right above it. He sighs and looks back to his work station, preparing to leave again. Another tally mark, he then goes towards the door. He slowly reaches for the light switch, then turns off the light, the green aura dimming down. He then slowly exits the room and grabs the door handle, looking back towards the tube.
He stops, something changed? I'm not sure, everything still seems the same...
Movement, Hamsterviel saw movement.
It's all in ruins now, this imagination land.
Smoke rising from the ground, covering the sky in a thick blanket of pure darkness.
It's all dead now.
Not that I'm complaining, it will never have any affect on me at all.
I float around to observe what I've done some more, everything is now full of rotting plants, polluted rivers, burning grasslands...just nothing. Nothing's left to hope for or dream about.
Well, except one thing.
There's a single flower in the middle of all the hellfire, still blooming in such an odd miraculous way. The flower that refuses to wither, that must be...last hope.
I don't understand how such a tiny flower can still stand straight. It's petal's a vibrant moonstone shade, with gleaming yellow specks. It stands just a few inches tall, and all life around it has been burned away.
It doesn't make any sense.
A summon myself a flamethrower, anything's possible in dreams anyways.
I point the nozzle directly at this last cling of hope, then unleash the fire.
What the heck?
I throw the flamethrower away, staring down at the flower.
Nothing affected it.
This makes me all the more curious...
Stomping...slicing...yet nothing damages it at all.
Peculiar, it is...this immortal hope.
What to do with it? Nothing, it seems...
Maybe I can take it somewhere...
I grab around the stem of the flower, however...I cannot pluck it when I give it a tug. So how can I...?
It's useless, I suppose.
With a sigh, I leave the flower alone.
I've been distracted by a mere flower, how embarrassing.
So then...I'll leave it off the hook for now. Maybe I'll come back to it...
Okay, give me a second to think about this situation...
I, an extremely dangerous genetic experiment, am wasting my time over a FLOWER.
Wow, if anyone was watching me, they'd probably snicker, cackle, snort...think I lost a screw or something.
...
One more try! I cannot be stopped by such a little thing!
Solar sighed and crossed his arms as the group continued to walk, fairly with no destination in mind. "So...where exactly...ARE we going?"
Splodyhead looked over to Solar. "Good question...I have no answer."
Sparky raised a hand, preparing to say something. However, he paused for a second or two and quickly lowered it. "I got nothing."
"Well then...why are we just walking around then? I mean...it's kinda...aimless, isn't it?" Solar then uncrossed his arms, shrugging. "Well...it's not aimless...just...we don't know where the heck we're supposed to be looking."
An eyebrow raised from Sparky. "You wouldn't know how this dream experiment works? Even though you guys are like...you know...programmed to know about each other?"
"Uhh..." Solar looked down, glancing around the floor in thought. "Dream experiment...yeah. We want to go to the place where the dreams are..."
"Which is what we're TRYING to do..." Splodyhead sighed.
"Anyone know what dreams are supposed to look like?" Solar glanced at Stitch. "You said you went into Lilo's dreams once, what was that like?"
Stitch shrugged. "Meega was sent in there directly, naga having to go look for it."
"Remind me again why we couldn't do that ourselves?" Sparky moaned. "I don't even know how long we've been in this...mindscape or whatever I'm supposed to call this."
Solar paused, looking around the area. Thus the group stopped walking.
"What's with the hold-up?" Splodyhead glanced around as well, trying to see what Solar was looking for. "Found something?"
Solar continued to glance around. "I think I heard a voice...I think it might be 632."
"How can youuga tell?" Stitch raised up an ear to listen. "Hearing voice meega haven't heard before."
Solar then smiled slightly. "Well then, if you haven't heard it then I guess that means it's not Slushy, right? Let's check it out."
Walking towards the mysterious voice, the four mindscape adventurers started to notice strange door-like formations, all closed and color coded, and perhaps the most peculiar thing was that these doors didn't have any apparent purpose of being there at all. They were just there, but didn't seem to go anywhere.
"Okay, what is with these doors?" Sparky walked around a door, as none of the doors were attached to walls or anything at all, just sticking out of the ground. "Is this some kind of...thing that's important to Slushy? He likes doors?"
Splodyhead crossed his arms and scoffed. "Oh yeah, doors. That's one of his favorite things. You know, he likes to...open them, oh! And he likes to close them, sometimes he leaves them open in the middle." Splodyhead swung his arms, charading out what he had said. "The best part it when the door is just ajar open, not closed, just a teeeensie bit open."
"Knock it off." Sparky crossed his arms. "You never know, he could have a fetish for anything! You should see this website online...it's meant for people to post their pictures and art, but MAAAAAN it's cluttered with fetish crap..."
Solar walked over to a door not too far away from him and gripped the handle. "Maybe a little peak shouldn't hurt, right?" He looked up and observed the color. "This one's a green door...interesting."
Stitch walked over. "Youuga sure is a good idea?"
"It's just a little peak. If it's no good, I'll just close the door, then we'll keep walking." Solar slowly pushed the handle down and opened the door enough for him to peek through. "Hey...there's Slushy!"
"Really?! Where?!" Splodyhead rushed to the door to take a look.
Sparky then walked over as well. "You seem trigger happy..."
Splodyhead observed the area through the door. "Wait a second...this is...this is when he and I were hanging out at our meeting place for the first time...are these doors all...memories?"
The door closed quickly, Stitch waved the cousins away. "We nagga touch these. Memories no good to mess around with!"
"But now I'm interested..." Solar looked around. "These doors have different colors..."
"Can someone explain to me why we saw Slushy's memories in third person instead of his own perspective?" Sparky crossed his arms. "He can't actually remember things as if he was an outside perspective..."
"We're getting too distracted here." Splodyhead shook his head. "Stitch is right, let's leave this place alone. We have to get that cloud...thing...out of Slushy's head before we run out of time..."
"Ok, ok..." Solar started to walk onwards. "I'll use these big ears and try to find anything suspicious. Stitch, use your x-ray vision if anything tries to sneak up on us."
Stitch nodded. "Ih."
Sparky rolled his eyes. "How can x-ray vision see a cloud?"
"I don't know, how can you not die from poisoning when you eat batteries?" Splodyhead shrugged. "Let's just go already."
Sparky raised his finger to speak, but everyone was already walking away. He lowered his arm and ran forward slightly to catch up. "H-Hey now! I was made that way! You should be asking Jumba for that answer."
"I guess we'll ask Jumba if x-ray vision can see living clouds too."
I just want to look away so badly...
But I'm mesmerized by what I'm witnessing...
These memories of mine I've locked away from myself for so long...
They intrigue me now.
But I've been here too long. I have to get out of here, I have to wake up.
While 629 continues to watch the memory, I try to take advantage of the situation. His attention of off me, now's my chance to try something.
I start to fiddle with the color, trying to loosen it up a bit. My fingers nudge the lock on the strap, causing it to slip just a little bit. A good tug should finish the job and get this off me.
Aha...got it.
The collar slips off, I quickly catch it before it clatters against the hard metal floor.
Now then...getting out of here will be...more difficult than that.
629's gaze will catch me if I try to get to the door, since I'd have to cross in front of him, as he shunted me off to the side farther away from the exit.
Is there some other way?
Maybe if I'm swift enough, I can slip behind the table and out the door...but I've never seen 629 run. I don't know my chances.
Doing something and failing is better than doing nothing at all, right?
Well...here goes nothing...
Three...two...one...
Run.
My eyes flash the scene around me like pictures. Darkness to an image to blur and around again. Is this what it's like to run for your life?
It's like the world warps around me, with my goal straight ahead.
Escape.
But what then? I haven't even thought it all the way.
Where will I go when I'm out?
That doesn't matter until I'm out.
Just run.
Grab the door handle, swing it open as fast as you can...
And just keep running.
Outside is like a maze...I never realized how big the lab was before, I was always confined in certain areas.
Keep going.
Left, right, left again.
The walls blur, the details fade. It doesn't matter if there's a stain on the wall, or a door, or even a pattern in carpet. I can't see anything anymore except the directions I can go.
Now the place has gotten darker. The bright, futuristic walls have faded into dull, metal ones.
I'm in Jumba's quarters now.
If I didn't know much before, I'll know practically nothing now.
Just keep running, just keep running...
To where?
...I got it. When I wake up from nightmares like these, it's when I get...really hurt.
Maybe if I bash myself into a wall hard enough...
No...it will make my location more obvious...
There's gotta be something!
Maybe if I trip and smack into the floor-
A sudden force slams me into an open room. I slide across the floor and groan.
"Haha...running away, are we?"
The door slams shut, all light has fallen dark.
Except for a pair of beaming maroon eyes.
I hear a click, the door's been locked...
"There's no escape now..."
"I hear something again." Solar looked around. "I think we're close!"
Sparky pointed to a gateway, marble pillars held up a sign carved in stone. "Imagination Land?"
"You know...I've always wondered what Slushy thinks about when he dozes off." Splodyhead knocked on the large door.
"Be careful." Solar walked over and gently moved Splodyhead to the side. "I sense a presence inside."
Stitch walked over and grinned. "Weega gonna get down to business."
Solar carefully pried the door open. "Here we go..."
The four stood inside the room, traces of ember drifted into the sky. The whole room seemed to have burned, ashes whirled around in the air.
"...Jeeze...I...I didn't think Slushy would...imagine this..." Splodyhead frowned. "I...I know he's been having troubles...but...just..."
"You guys...look." Sparky whispered, gesturing to a bluish figure stomping its foot repeatedly.
"632." Solar took a few steps forward, then took a closer look. "Is he stomping on a flower?"
Stitch couldn't help but chuckle. "Some evil cousin he is."
"Well...here we go." Solar cleared his throat. "632! Hey there! Is this a bad time?"
The blue, cloud-shaped head looked up slowly. "..." It loomed downwards, then up again.
"You sure look pretty, uhh...busy there with that flower." Sparky jumped in. "But hey, it's cool. We all have those...things that peeve us. Is it the wrong color?"
"...fools."
"Pardon?" Sparky crossed his arms and twitched his ears a bit. "Can't hear you."
"Ha...ha..." 632 looked up, eyes beaming. "You actually came...that's something..."
Splodyhead scooched over towards Solar, gently grabbing one of the floppy ears and whispering into it, "What are you doing? We gotta catch him, or else...maybe something really bad can happen!"
Solar looked over at Splodyhead and smiled, flashing a wink.
Rather surprised, Splodyhead let go of the ear. "H-Hey...what does that mean?"
However, Solar already redirected his attention to 632. "Buddy, pal, chum chum, fam, homie, bread slice." He extended out a hand and smiled. "Come on, let's get out of here, yeah? A burning place like this isn't suitable for someone like you."
632 looked at the hand, then startled to laugh. "You're kidding me, 630." He smiled, mischievously, putting a hand on his astral-like hip. "I actually think the place is nice. It's dry, dead, and...until a moment ago, empty. So, I'd really appreciate it if you leave."
"Naga." Stitch frowned.
"That's unfortunate..." 632 looked forward, staring, rather eerily. "Because I believe you will all have to be leaving anyways..."
Splodyhead nodded. "Yeah, that's the plan. Another part of that is you coming with us. Preferably confined in a glass tube so we make sure you don't try anything funny."
632 snickered. "You won't come that far. Besides, you have a time limit for being here, isn't that right? You'll have to leave soon, or you'll be trapped in here."
"W-Well...yes." Solar admitted. He then shook his head, "However...we are determined to make sure you come with us! We can't have you hurting Slushy by...setting his mind on fire..."
"So you're going to assume that I'm the one responsible for this." 632 chuckled and crossed his arms. "Well, alright then."
"It makes the most sense when you consider the circumstances and..." Sparky shook his head. "Never mind that. You gotta come with us, so...you can come voluntarily...or we'll drag you with us. Capiche?"
632 blinked, then burst into laughter. "Pfffffhaha!" He bent over slightly, wrapping his arms around his chest as he laughed. "You're joking! That's the funniest thing I've heard from you clods!"
Sparky frowned. "I was being serious."
"Oh...oh I see..." 632 calmed down slightly. "You mean you're seriously joking, right? This is just utterly pathetic."
"Enough." Stitch pointed at 632. "Youuga have to come with us, or meega make you."
Solar raised an eyebrow. "I think you mean we will..." He sighed and shrugged. "Actually, nevermind..."
632 smirked. "So, serious, ehh? Well then...we're all standing here together, in this mindscape. I have the power to essentially warp people's minds, meaning I can do literally anything here. And...what can you do?"
"W-Well...I can shoot my fireballs..." Splodyhead bit his lip. "Umm..."
632 rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Pfft. Pa-the-tic."
"H-Hey, we haven't actually tried anything new yet..." Solar defended Splodyhead. "Maybe we can."
"Oh, really? Show me." 632 challenged.
Stitch crackled his knuckles and squinted his eyes to focus. He then grunted and pushed himself to do...something. He didn't really consider what, all he wanted to do was prove 632 was wrong.
"Uhh...S-Stitch?" Splodyhead twiddled his fingers. "A-Are you ok?"
"Nrrrhhhg..." Stitch grunted in response. Nothing seemed to be happening.
"H-Hey...don't push yourself too hard. It's ok if you can't do it, we can still beat him with our own power!" Sparky reassured.
However, Stitch refused to simply give up. He squinted his eyes harder, however nothing happened even still.
This greatly amused 632. "Your determination is quite...interesting." He shook his head and smiled. "However...I'm done with wasting my time. I have places to go, and people to see. So...get lost."
"No way." Solar frowned and crossed his arms. "We came all this way just to get to you. You should show us more gratitude."
632 sighed and shook his head. "Well...if you insist…" He closes his eyes, chuckling. "Guess this is my only option then…"
"Yeah! So...come here. We will bring you to Jumba...and we'll become friends." Sparky smiled, lightly.
"Hah. I wasn't referring to that." 632 opened his eyes and grinned. I was referring to...THIS!"
Effortlessly, 632 launched a blast of energy, striking Sparky. His watch's timer flashed, and started to rapidly count down faster.
Sparky looked at it, dazed. "H-Huh?"
"Scurry on home, wouldya? I'd say you have five minutes left before you're stuck in here, with me…" 632 smiled. "But hey...at least you'll have company."
Stitch's fists clenched. "Playing dirty."
"Hey now, there are no rules here for me. However, you do have rules. One of them being...don't let the timer run out." 632 teased. "Isn't that true?"
Stitch growled.
"Calm down...we gotta get outta here, quick." Solar frowned.
"What?!" Splodyhead crossed his arms. "No way! I'm not leaving! We have to get that freak out of Slushy!"
"Freak?" 632 laughed. "I'm so FLATTERED!"
More blasts of energy launched towards the group, a large cloud of smoke surrounding them. When it cleared out, all of their timers were counting down rapidly.
"Incase you didn't get the memo:" 632 grinned, "LEAVE!"
"Grhh...come on!" Solar grabbed Splodyhead and shook him. "We have to regroup! We came unprepared, but this isn't over!"
Splodyhead shook his head. "I can't just abandon Slushy! He needs our help, we have to try!"
Solar grabbed Splodyhead by the hand. "We can always come back again, I'm sure of it. We're out of time, nearly! Let's get out of here!"
"B-But-!"
"You're just impossible sometimes!" Solar picked up Splodyhead. "We're out of here!" He then took off and flew back to their dock-point, Sparky carrying Stitch, trailing behind them.
Splodyhead's eyes were locked on to 632. "I swear…"
The image of 632 shrank gradually over time, until he was nothing more than the size of dust. Then, he was gone.
"I don't understand." 629 sighs. "I was just showing you memories. I was showing you the truth, and you know that. So...are you trying to run away from yourself?"
I shake my head, looking into 629's eyes.
"I didn't bring you here to hurt you. I wanted to help."
There's no way that's true. He's lying. He'd never want to help anyone except himself-
"But you and I are the same person, are we not?"
I look up at him, grabbing my head as well.
629 chuckles. "What? I read your thoughts, is that the most surprising thing you've seen me do?"
I shake my head, but…
"How….how did you?" I ask.
"Ah... allow me to introduce to you a friend of mine…" 629 steps to the side, revealing someone standing, or rather floating, behind him. "This is 632."
I look over at 632, his colors are like mine, vibrant blue, and even the shape of our bodies are similar. However, he is more like a...well...cloud.
He stares at me for a while, not saying anything at all.
I look over to 629. "...So...umm…"
629 smiles. "You see, 632 here has been helping me with...hijacking your mind, if you want to put it like that."
"H-Huh?"
"The way I've been able to play with your dreams, or mess with your subconsciousness, or even right now. That's not my power." 629 crosses his arms. "I must give credit where credit is due, and this is the work of 632."
I look back to 632. "Y...You've been...you've been doing this to me?"
He doesn't respond.
"H-Hey...a-answer me, please…" I stand up a little, legs wobbling.
Nothing still.
I make an effort to move forward, but 629 pushes me back lightly.
"Listen here." 629 frowns. "We need to talk."
I blink at him, silently, confusedly.
Arms crossed, 629 leans in a little. "There's something I've been wondering about."
"W-What would that be?" I stutter, looking at him in the eyes.
"Would you be interested in...doing some business?"
"H-Huh?"
"You heard me." 629 smiles. "Your faded memories from the past. I can show them to you." He raises a hand over, as if he wants to shake with mine. "In exchange, you have to give something back."
I look at the hand, and then to him. "And...w-what would that be?"
"Your help."
I squint my eyes a little. "...As...in…?"
629 chuckles. "Little things here and there...maybe letting me jump into your body every once in awhile?"
"S-S-So you can try to choke me again or something?!" I back away into the wall. "N-No!"
629 walks over and places a hand on one of my shoulders. "Hush now. That's not it." He smiles. "I just need to know some information about some things. My goal isn't to stab you to death, hehe. Think of that more as a sidequest that could be skipped."
"W-What do you-?"
"So…" He leans in a little, his tone lowers, and becomes a little more harsh. "You'd want me to skip that sidequest, wouldn't you?"
I gulp and nod.
"Good…" 629 smiles. "How's that? You get to see your memories, you get to live, all I need from you is...possibly the ability to pop in whenever I want."
"B-But...couldn't you do that already?" I raise an eyebrow. "I mean...I never wanted you to, but…"
"Aha." 629 raises a finger. "I've never been able to fulfill the potential of this ability because you're preventing me from doing it."
I shake my head. "I'm sorry...I can't do this. But...maybe there's another offer that you'd like?"
"Why can't you?" 629 frowns slightly.
"W-Well…" I look down. "I don't...I don't trust you."
629 blinks, then laughs. "You certainly have issues with trusting anyone, isn't that right?"
I bite my lip. It's true...based on everything that's been happening...I sometimes even have problems trusting Splody...I find myself tangled up in a spider's web, just waiting to be eaten by consequences.
"Then how about this." 629 proposes. "I'll teach you about me, I'll show you everything I know, your memories, and more. The only thing is...you'll just have to stay here."
I raise an eyebrow. "F-For how long?"
"Long enough." 629 chuckles. "I need you with me, 523."
I look at 629's hand, it reaches out again. "I...I don't…"
"Come on...I only need one little thing in return." 629 smiles, friendly-like.
I look up at him. "Tell me. Why do you need me to stay here?"
629 shrugs. "Does it really matter?"
"What if this takes too long?"
"Thing is...I want to learn more about you, got it? And the best way to do that is to have you right here. Now then...are you going to shake it, or what?"
I gulp and look back and forth, between the hand and 629.
I can't trust him...he's probably lying…
Maybe he'll scramble my brain while I'm here…
But I want to know…
I want to know the details I've forgotten.
I want to know why Jumba did what he did.
I want to know more about myself...who I am…
The lab accident...why did I snap? What happened to me?
How did I change?
I close my eyes, then shake my head.
"Well?" 629 asks, patiently.
"THIS IS BULLSH-" Splodyhead yelled, waking up and throwing off the helmet. He then coughed, choking on saliva slightly.
Solar stretched and sighed, taking off the helmet. "How did he do that? Did he hack the hardware or something?"
Jumba looked over towards them, raising an eyebrow. "No...experiment isn't built to do that."
"So then...how did he do it?" Sparky asked, taking off his helmet. "How did he mess with the timers?"
Jumba analyzed the situation with the computer. "Perhaps he didn't...but he made it seem as if so."
"You're saying...he tricked us into thinking we were running of time...but we didn't?" Solar asked.
"It seems like it…" Jumba nodded.
Splodyhead stood up and kicked the chair down, angrily. "I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS!"
"Cousin, calm down." Stitch frowned. "Meega worried too, but naga-"
"NO! DON'T YOU SEE?!" Splodyhead threw the chair into a wall. "HE TRICKED US! NOW WE LEFT SLUSHY ALONE IN THERE!"
Sparky scratched his head. "So...what's preventing from getting back inside?"
Jumba shrugged. "Well…nothing actually...unless…" Jumba typed into the computer. "...What's this?"
Transferia walked over to the computer. "Is that...a lock?"
"It seems so." Jumba nodded. "632 instituted a mind-lock…now we've been blocked from accessing 523's mind..."
"For how long?" Solar asked, walking over. "Is there a time limit we have to wait for?"
"WE CAN'T WAIT!" Splodyhead continued to throw a furious fit.
"619, please to be calming down before you be breaking Jumba's ship." Jumba sighed, looking over. "We'll fix this."
However, Splodyhead wasn't listening, and he continued to grumble and spit out enraged jiberish.
"Now then…" Jumba looked back to the computer. "Jumba can be decoding the lock, may take maybe a day...ehh couple hours if no breaks."
Solar sighed in relief. "Thank goodness for that…"
Sparky looked over to Splodyhead. "Did you hear that, blaze-ball? We just have to wait a few hours and-"
"NO!" Splodyhead picked up his chair and threw it across the room. "WE CAN'T WAIT FOR-"
The chair crashed into the super computer with a loud clatter. Electricity sparked into the air.
"...Oh for fu-" Sparky coughed, shaking his head. "Now you've gone and done it, Splody. Look at what you've done!"
Splodyhead froze. "U-Uh...I-I...huh?"
Jumba moaned. "And was excellent supercomputer too." He then grumbled, "will definitely take more than a day now…"
Stitch sighed and walked over to Jumba. "Meega help with repairs?"
"Thank you, 626." Jumba opened a lower panel to the supercomputer. "221, can you come stabilize flying electricity?"
Sparky nodded and walked over, then used his antenna to draw out the excess electricity.
"S-S-So…" Splodyhead grabbed his head. "I-I-I...w-what?"
Transferia walked over to Splodyhead. "Come on, maybe it's best to step away while they fix up the mess." She frowned, worriedly. "I see you're under a lot of...stress…"
Flash zoomed over and gave Splodyhead a stress ball. "I hear humans like to give these a squeeze."
Splodyhead picked up the stress ball and squeezed it lightly a few times, then sighed. "I really am a hothead…" He let out a small laugh. "Sparky's right…"
"Of course I am!" Sparky shouted from his station at the supercomputer.
"Let's go." Transferia put an arm around Splodyhead's shoulders. "If we're patient, we can get back in sooner. Maybe Jumba will even have a good strategy against 632."
Dash nodded. "Yeah, instead of going in with no strategy at all."
"You're not helping." Transferia glared at Dash.
"Hard truth."
"Anyways…" Transferia looked back to Splodyhead. "I mean...I guess we were pretty useless...all I did was just watch you…"
"Yeah, why didn't you say anything to them? Wasn't there some sort of walkie-talkie thingy or whatever?" Dash crossed his arms.
"Dash…" Transferia clenched her teeth.
"Well it's true!"
"Enough." Flash sighed. "Come on, let's go outside."
The small group exited the ship, walking through the forest.
The night was young, as fireflies danced in the cool air.
"Is he going to be ok?" Splodyhead looked down. "I'm supposed to be his best friend, so...why am I so...pathetic?"
Transferia shook her head. "That's surely not true. You were caught off guard, we all were."
"Walkie-talkies." Dash whispered.
"But...wait a second…" Flash frowned. "Jumba was using the walkie-talkie thing…" She pointed to Splodyhead. "You guys didn't answer us…"
"You were trying to communicate with us? We didn't hear you at all…" Splodyhead grabbed his head and grunted. "Another stupid trick by that stupid cloud!"
"Calm down...deep breaths." Transferia patted Splodyhead on the back.
"Ok...ok…" Splodyhead shook his head lightly. "But...I'm really worried...what if we leave him there for too long? What if...something happens to him? With that cloud thingy there...what if he loses his memory, or...what if he loses his MIND?!"
"...I can't answer that…" Transferia frowned. "But...we can hope for the best. After all...632's like a...dream related experiment...I think…"
Flash nodded. "He tested his powers on us while we were sleeping...that's how we were able to communicate and come up with plans…"
"Plans…" Splodyhead stopped walking.
"Something wrong?" Transferia turned to Splodyhead.
"You guys...you must know their plans, right?"
Dash scratched his head. "W-Well...I mean...we SHOULD I guess…"
"So...do you remember anything?" Splodyhead looked at the three. "Do you know 629's plans?"
"Bits and pieces…" Transferia shrugged.
"He...never told us that much…" Flash admitted. "Just…'bring him to me' and 'he's very important' and…"
" 'We need him on our side.' " Dash mimicked 629's low, harsh tone. " '523 is what we need, so we can do evil things, mwahahaha!' " He coughed. "Evil laughs are hard…"
"Back that up…" Splodyhead looked at Dash, eyes going wide slightly. "He wants Slushy on his side?"
"Umm...that was just me doing an impression-"
"Tell me, you have to!" Splodyhead put his arms on Dash's shoulders. "629...wants Slushy on his side?"
Dash blinked. "Uhh...uhhh….uhhhhh..."
"W-Well?!" Splodyhead shook him.
"H-Hey, don't be violent!" Transferia moved Splodyhead away from Dash.
"Y-Yeah! I can't think well under pressure!" Dash added.
"I have to know!" Splodyhead shook his head. "Please...you have to tell me!"
Flash thought about it. "...We don't really know much beyond 629 wanting us to bring Slushy to him. But...I think I know someone who would have an idea…"
"Who?!" Splodyhead looked to her.
Transferia looked down, crossing her arms in thought. "Someone who he could talk to right away, the first person who listened to 629's plans. The person who came out right after 629…" She looked up. "Solar."
Dash nodded. "Ohhhh yeaaah! It makes sense because Solar's 630, haha-"
Everyone looked to Dash, frowning.
"Oh…" Dash motioned his hands to zip is lips.
"So...you're gonna rush up over to him and-" Flash started.
"I have to know!" Splodyhead started to run back towards the ship. "This is important!"
Transferia sighed. "I don't think this is the best strategy to-"
Flash and Dash nodded and zoomed over to the ship.
"...get the answer…" Transferia looked up towards the sky, sighing again. "What a night…" She looked forward and then started to walk towards the ship.
"Hmm…" Jumba rubbed his chin. "Good thing only monitor was damaged. Repairs can now be reduced to about a week…"
"That's a relief." Solar fluttered over, carrying a wrench. "Need this, boss?"
Jumba chuckled and took the wrench. "Is just Jumba, 630."
"Oh...umm...sorry, Jumba." Solar blinked.
Sparky continued to keep the electricity levels stable. "Yeash...how much power is in this thing? It's still spurting out power like nuts!"
"Is best supercomputer model Jumba ever created." Jumba beamed, proudly. "Combined hardware from even university days, hehe. Is ultimate computer, and wouldn't be possible without collaboration of fellow lab assistant-" Jumba bit his lip, stopping himself. "Ah...nevermind that…"
Stitch poked his head up from under the supercomputer. "How come?"
Jumba smiled. "Well...some things are best left in past."
"I don't know, Jumba…" Sparky looked up. "Hamsterviel was good to us back in the lab. Maybe...maybe there's hope to turn him good again?"
Jumba paused for a second, then nodded. "Perhaps you are right...but...I am just not understanding...why he changed like that."
"Like what?" Solar asked. "And...who is this...Hamsterwheel guy anyways?"
"Ah...is story for another time." Jumba smiled.
Just then, Splodyhead walked into the room. "S-Solar...there's something I really need to ask you…"
"Oh, ok bud." Solar drifted over towards Splodyhead and landed on the floor. "Something up?"
"I've been given word that...you may be one of the few, if not the only, person who can answer this question…" Splodyhead twiddled his fingers.
"Oooh, sounds spooky. What is it?" Solar's ears twitched. "I'm all ears, hehe."
Splodyhead frowned. "Is it true, what Dash said?"
"Well, what did he say?" Splodyhead chuckled. "He's a real firecracker anyways…"
"Is one of 629's goals...to get Slushy on his side?"
Solar blinked. "Huh?"
"Does 629 want to...to get Slushy on his side?" Splodyhead looked up. "I have to know...if that's the case...we have to get Slushy awake as soon as possible."
Solar thought about it for a while. "Jeese...it's been such a long time since I've heard anything from 629…" Solar bit his lip. "I...I can't say…"
"Please! Y-You gotta tell me something!" Splodyhead shook Solar with desperation for an answer.
"H-Hey, stop that."
"Oh...sorry." Splodyhead stopped the shaking.
Solar glanced around the floor in thought. "I remember...some things...he said something about...becoming whole." He looked up. "...I…"
"What does that mean?!" Splodyhead raised his voice.
"G-Guh…" Solar grabbed his head. "My ears are really sensitive you know? All this yelling you've been doing has hurt them...I just didn't wanna sound rude...but...please, stop yelling already…"
"Sorry…" Splodyhead looked down. "So...there's nothing? No answer? Not even a reason?"
"A reason...a reason…" Solar shook his head. "I...I can't...remember...wait…he said… 'to be whole' and… 'to be complete' and… 'to be who I was meant to be' and…" Solar shook his head "I...can't remember…"
Splodyhead sighed. "Well...atleast there's something...629 wants Slushy...to be completed…"
" 'Something's missing…' " Solar whispered. " 'We need to be together like we were meant to be…' " Solar looked up. "What does that mean-"
Jumba grabbed his head and moaned lightly.
"Jumba?" Stitch asked.
Jumba lowered his arms and looked around. "It felt as if old memory is trying to force itself out...but...all Jumba remembers...isn't related to this…" He grabbed his head again. "Remembering...what is Jumba remembering?!"
"Jumba? Are you ok?!" Sparky looked up, letting go of the electricity panel.
Sparks flew into the air, shocking Jumba and Stitch.
"O-O-OH CRAP!" Sparky grabbed the electricity panel again. "I'm sorry!"
Stitch moaned and climbed out of the supercomputer. "Jeese cousin...you really shocked meega…"
"S-Sorry…"
Jumba looked up. "I remember words…someone said words like those in context, I believe, 630. But...Jumba can't identify origin...just the words…"
"What are those words?" Splodyhead asked.
"If I'm missing something, why won't you fix me?"
There I stand, looking at a memory of myself, suddenly in first person, as if I'm living the memory again.
Jumba's wearing a lab coat, holding a clipboard, looking down at me, frowning.
"Tell me, please! If you can fix me, why don't you?!"
"You're not missing anything, you're simply failure." Jumba grunts.
"Hamsterviel told me so. He told me you forgot to add something to me, and now I'm like this. Why can't you just-"
"Jumba didn't forget anything!" Jumba kicks me away. "Jumba doesn't make mistakes, except for creating the likes of you,
523!"
To be continued.
