A Stitch with the Arcs
Chap 1
"Okay. See you guys after the vacation." I said as I slung my bag over my shoulder. Currently, it was fall time at Beacon, and every student was heading back home for their two-week vacation. And I was heading back home to Arc Town.
"BYE, FEARLESS LEADER!" Nora shouted as she jumped from my bed to her bed and back.
"See you soon, Jaune." Pyrrha said with a smile as she placed some clothes into her bag as she planned on visiting her family during the vacation.
"Try not to become vomit boy again." Yang teased.
"Remember to take your motion sickness pills." Ren told me as he tried to pack up all the supplies he and Nora needed for their vacation. But it was proving difficult as she kept bouncing on the bed.
Rolling my eyes, I exited the dorm and closed the door behind me. Zipping up my Pumpkin Pete's hoodie, I began to make my way through the halls of Beacon. After a couple of minutes, I exited Beacon and started making my way towards the bullheads. Getting there, I showed my student I.D. to the ticket booth, got my ticket, and boarded the bullhead. Spotting an empty seat towards the back, I made my over and sat down. Remembering that I hadn't taken my motion sickness pills, I reached into my bag and took them just in time as the bullhead began to rise into the air. Feeling my scroll vibrate, I took it out and saw I had received two messages, one from my friends and one from my family. However, the one from my friends didn't come from the friends I made at Beacon but rather, friends from back home. Although, they are still basically family with how close they are.
'How are you doing, Jaune?' The message read.
'Fine, on the bullhead already heading back home. But I have a feeling you're texting about something else.' I messaged back.
'Yeah, Experiment 221 is not at the house or lighthouse. We want to know if you saw him recently.' Their reply came back a second later. I thought it over for a moment before answering.
'Nope, I haven't seen him. Check the power factory as he occasionally likes to go there.' I replied.
"He certainly has come a long way." I said as I began to recall how Experiment 221 used to cause mass electrical surges in any place he visited. But now, while still mischievous, he no longer causes havoc or mass chaos. And also, part of the family. Chuckling, I closed the message and opened the one from my family.
'Hey, Lil bro. Are you on your way home?' The message from my older sister, Saphron, read.
'I'm on the bullhead. I should be there in a few hours. How's Adrian and Terra?' I replied.
'Terra is fine. It was a bit tough having her adjust to her new work schedule since she's used to her other one, which had her working all day. As for Adrian, he's a handful, but thanks to a few experiments, I've actually managed to have some free time recently.' She replied.
'That's good. How's the rest of the family?' I asked.
'They're fine. They're all working around Arc town, keeping the experiments in line and ensuring everything is going smoothly. Dad is working with our extended family on his new inventions. Mom, however, is waiting anxiously for your return. But be warned, she's essentially going to interrogate you about your life at Beacon.' She answered. Chuckling, I replied that I knew that would happen anyway and that I had gifts for them. Closing my scroll, I leaned back into my seat and decided to take a quick nap as it would be a couple of hours until I got home.
Four Hours Later
'That was a good nap.' I thought as the sound of the bullhead landing woke me up.
Stretching, I grabbed my bag and waited until the bullhead fully landed. After a few moments, the bullhead fully landed and opened its doors. Getting up, I waited for everyone else to disembark before getting off myself. Looking around, I breathed in the fresh, cold autumn air of Arc Town. While I wouldn't admit it out loud, I felt a bit homesick, and being back made me feel refreshed. Smiling, I started to make my way to the sidewalk but stopped when I felt something hit my leg. Looking down, I smiled even bigger when I saw that my best friend/brother bumped into my leg.
"Hey, Stitch. Good to see you." I said as he unfurled himself from his ball form.
"Hi, Jaune. Good to see you too." He said, smiling.
"How have you been doing?" I asked as we did our special secret handshake.
"I'm fine." He answered. "Shall we head back home?"
"Yeah, it was a long trip, and I want to get back home as quickly as possible so that I can get some rest." I answered.
He nodded before rolling into a ball and following right beside me as we exited the airstrip and made our way home. Usually, I would have gotten into a cab as our home is a good five miles away from the airstrip. But I wanted to take in the sights of my hometown again. And as we made our way home, we greeted all the residents of Arc Town. Despite it being a medium-size town, everyone knew each other here. But what sets us apart from every other town in Remnant are our special guests living here with us. And by that, I mean all of the six-hundred and twenty-six experiments that Jumba created. Every single one of them was living peacefully with us and helping the town run smoothly. Hearing some electricity crackling above us, Stitch unfurled himself before we looked up to the power lines above us.
"Oh, hey, Sparky." I greeted when we spotted experiment 221, otherwise known as Sparky.
"Cuz-z-zins…" He greeted back with a buzz sounding as he spoke in broken English.
"Ashi salaam?" I asked him in Tantalog, the native tongue of the experiments. After the people of Arc Town learned and accepted the experiments moving in, we all made a unanimous decision that we all learn their native language to better communicate with them. It was a pain in the ass to learn and understand the language, but it was worth it as it brought everyone closer together.
"Bootifa." He answered with a cackle.
"That's good. Listen, Jumba and Pleakely are looking for you, not sure for what, though." I told him in English, with Stitch translating as I'm still learning the Tantalog language.
"Okie-taka. Pasawa." Sparky said with a groan before turning back into electricity and riding the power lines back home.
"Thanks, Stitch." I said, turning to him.
"No, problem." He said as he climbed up my side and sat down on my shoulders.
Smiling, I grabbed his legs to stabilize him as we continued making our way back home. However, when we reached the halfway mark, we heard our stomachs growl a bit. Checking the time on my scroll, I saw that it was nearing five' o clock. Deciding to grab something to eat, we began to look around for a place to get some food. But then we remembered a place that Stitch, my family, and I used to eat at all the time before leaving to study at Beacon. Changing directions, we headed towards the best sandwich shop in Remnant.
Fifteen Minutes Later
"Ohufi, Reuben. Jaba ramid nye hassin." I greeted him as we entered the sandwich shop and sat down at the bar.
"Hey, cousins." Reuben greeted back as he hopped onto the counter and grabbed a notepad and pen. "You know you don't have to speak Tantalog with me as I know it's hard on your throat."
"I know, but practice makes perfect." I told him.
"Either way, good to see you two again. What's your order?" He asked.
"Cheese sandwich." Stitch answered as he looked over the menu.
'Man, I forget how easy it is to forget how smart Stitch is.' I thought with a chuckle as I looked over the menu. But after a moment, I decided to treat myself and go with the one I typically chose during celebrations. "I'll take the ultimate clubhouse sandwich. But add some bacon and a dash of habanero sauce."
"Got it. A grilled cheese sandwich and an ultimate clubhouse with bacon and habanero sauce coming right up." Reuben said as he wrote it down before hopping off the counter and heading into the kitchen.
"How's Beacon?" Stitch asked, turning to me.
"Fine, made some new friends and somehow became the leader of my team." I answered.
"Did you like Vale?" He asked as he picked his ear.
"Yeah, I like Vale. But honestly, after a few weeks, I began to grow homesick and missed this place." I answered. "I even became tempted to sneak away from Beacon to come back here."
"Hehe. We missed you too. It's not the same without you." Stitch said with a smile. Rolling my eyes, I pulled him into a hug before giving him a rub on his head.
"ALRIGHT! ORDER UP!" Reuben shouted, getting our attention. Letting go of Stitch, we turned and saw Reuben returning with our food. "Enjoy."
"Thanks." I said as we began to dig into our food. 'Delicious.'
One hour and a Half Later
"Hello. I'm home." I shouted as I unlocked the front door of the Arc Mansion. It used to be a much smaller house, but after our guests moved in, we expanded our home to the point where it's now a mansion. "That's odd. No response yet-"
"BIG BRO!" Koral, my youngest sister, shouted as she tackled me to the ground, with Stitch barely managing to sidestep in time.
"Hey, Koral. Long time no see." I said, chuckling as she helped me up.
"Too long if you ask me. I haven't seen you in three whole months." She said before hugging Stitch and me.
"Koral. We video-call nearly every day." I reminded her before hugging her back.
"But it's not the same as seeing you in person." She countered while letting go.
"Anyway, where's everybody else?" I asked as despite the mansion being huge, it was rarely quiet.
"Oh, the rest are either at their jobs, shopping, or simply hanging out with their friends. Although, Saphron is at the doctors as Adrian caught a cold recently. Mom and dad are with some friends and won't be back until later." She answered.
"How about Jumba and Pleakely?" Stitch asked.
"They are in the lab. You should probably go see them." She answered.
"Another time, as it was a long trip, we just ate, plus I'm tired." I told her as I took off my shoes.
"After you rest, can you tell me of your adventures at Beacon?" She asked excitedly.
"When everyone else gets back, so I don't have to repeat myself. But that reminds me, I brought you a gift. And one for you, Stitch." I said as I opened my bag and pulled out the gifts.
"YOU'RE THE BEST BIG BRO!" Koral shouted as she grabbed the present. "What is it?"
"Go to your room and open it." I answered, causing her to pout for a moment before dashing back to her room at speeds that would make Ruby jealous. Chuckling, I turned to Stitch and gave him his present. "Here you go, pal."
"Takka." He said before opening it. And inside was a special waterproof sweater I made while I was at Beacon. What made it special was the fact that it contained traces of red dust to help keep him warm during the winter months. "I like it."
"I knew you would. Anyway, let's head to my room and take a quick nap before the rest of the family returns. And you know that peace and quiet are impossible to achieve with them around." I told him.
He nodded in agreement before putting on the sweater I made for him. Smiling, I picked him up and placed him on my shoulder before making my way to my room. But not before swinging by the lab to greet Jumba and Pleakely, who were both working on a new project. Knowing that an explosion could happen at any moment, we quickly left the lab and ran the rest of the way to my room. Opening the door, I was greeted to the room that Stitch and I had shared for the better part of a decade. Dropping my bag off on my desk, I walked over to my bed, took off my hoodie before getting into my bed with Stitch getting into his own.
'It's good to be home.' I thought with a yawn before falling asleep.
Note:
Takka means Thanks.
Ohufi is a casual greeting.
Jaba ramid nye hassin means long time no see.
Okie-taka means alright, depending on the context.
Pasawa means see ya.
Bootifa means cool/good/beautiful, depending on the context.
Ashi salaam means how are you?
The language of the experiments is called Tantalog.
This idea came to me after I watched Lilo and Stitch again with my niece.