A Stitch with the Arcs
Chap 3
'Time to get to work.' I thought with a yawn. Rubbing my eyes, I then stretched a bit before getting out of bed. Hearing some yawning, I looked down and saw that Stitch was also waking up. "Ahua shalom bye, Stitch."
"Ahua shalom bye, Jaune." He replied as he got out and made his bed while I did the same.
Once done, we changed out of sleepwear and into our casual everyday clothes. Although, I did smile when Stitch chose to wear the sweater I got for him yesterday. Hearing a vibrating sound, I turned towards my might table and saw my scroll vibrating. Picking it up, I noticed that I had received six messages from different people.
'Odd.' I thought, confused, before remembering how involved I am with Arc Town. Looking through the messages, I noticed that I knew all except one. Opening the first one, I saw that it was from Cobra Bubbles.
'Hello, Jaune. I heard you're back in town. Listen, I need a favor. I'll be out of town on a mission with Shush. I need you to check on a family that adopted an experiment recently.' The message read.
"Hey, Stitch. You think Cobra Bubbles remembers when you threw a book at his face?" I asked. Stitch stared at me for a second before falling to the floor, laughing. Rolling my eyes, I responded to the message.
'Sure. Anything specific or just see how they are adjusting?' I replied with a response coming back almost instantly.
'Just see how well they are adjusting. I already checked on everything else. In any case, I've already sent a few files to your scroll with all the needed information. Send me what you find out to my public scroll, and I'll look it over when I get back.' His response read.
'Alright, let's see who's the next... Oh, Nani.' I thought, closing Cobra's message and opening the next one, only to see that it was from Nani.
'Hey, Jaune. Sorry I couldn't meet you yesterday as I was pretty busy. Also, I need your help. I have a job interview in a few hours that will last nearly the whole day. Do you mind if you watch over Lilo while I'm gone?' Her message read. Smiling, I replied.
'Sure, don't worry. I'll watch over Lilo. Plus, it'll be nice to spend some time with her like before I went off to Beacon.' I replied, with her response coming back a few seconds later.
'Thanks, you're a literal lifesaver. I'll make it up to you somehow when I get back.' Her response read.
"Hey, Stitch. It looks like we'll be spending the day together with Lilo." I told him.
"Oooh." Stitch said, excited. We always enjoyed spending time with Lilo as, despite being only seven years old, she was a joy to be around. Chuckling, I closed Nani's message and moved on to the next one.
'Beacon? What could they want?' I wondered as I opened the message.
'Attention all Beacon Students. Due to a mishap, your vacation time has been extended from two weeks to three weeks. Enjoy your vacation, and don't forget to train.' The message read.
"What did the message say?" Stitch asked as he climbed up onto my shoulder.
"Just that my vacation time has been extended from two weeks to three, which gives us more time to be together." I answered as I moved on to the following message. Although, I internally groaned when I saw who it was from, as he sometimes can be annoying. "Gantu."
'Jaune. Stitch. I heard you came back yesterday. Think you can help me train some experiments in their takedowns?' His message read. We are now on pretty good terms despite initially being on opposing sides in the race to gather all the experiments and find them a home. He even moved into Arc town and helped with certain matters. Now, he's the manager of several gyms throughout Arc Town and teaches self-defense classes for both experiments and non-experiments. But that doesn't mean we don't still argue from time to time. Yet, we never held it against him as most Remnant terms go over his head, and his serious persona and nature don't help either.
'Sure. Where should we meet at?' I replied.
'Meet me at the gym on fifth once you're free.' He answered.
"Crazy to think we used to fight and mess with him all the time." Stitch said as he cleaned his ears. Chuckling, I closed Gantu's message and opened the next one, which was from my teammates and friends.
'Hey everyone. We hope everyone enjoys their vacation time with their families, and we hope to see you soon.' The message in the group chat read. Smiling, I responded that I hoped everyone enjoyed their time with their families as well.
"How do you think your friends will react to our Ohana?" Stitch asked, curious.
"I'm not too sure. They might take it well, but aside from Ren, one of my teammates, they can't keep a secret to save their lives." I answered as I moved on to the final message. However, I became slightly concerned as the last message came from an unknown number. Opening it, I became confused and even more concerned.
'Hello, Jaune. Hope you're doing well.' The message read.
'I'm doing fine. Who is this?' I responded. However, after waiting a couple of minutes and not getting a response, we concluded that it was either a wrong number or a scam call.
"Alright, shall we get going?" I asked Stitch as I moved over to my desk and grabbed my keys. Pocketing them, I moved over to our closet and pulled out my Pumpkin Pete's hoodie.
"Sure. But first, breakfast." He answered after we heard our stomachs grumble.
Chuckling, we exited our room and headed downstairs to the kitchen. Seeing that no one else was there, I took out my scroll and saw that it was only seven in the morning. Putting away my scroll, I turned to Stitch and nodded. He nodded back before hopping off my shoulder and heading towards the cabinets to pull out a couple of plates. Since I was six, a favorite pastime of mine was to wake up early and cook for the entire family. And after Stitch became part of the family, he quickly gained this as one of his favorite pastimes as well. Opening the fridge, I pulled out all the ingredients we needed to make food for the whole family.
"Time to get cooking." Stitch and I said as we put on the cooking aprons that our family gifted us a few years ago.
One Hour Later
"Done." Stitch, and I said, exhausted as we sat down in our chairs. Smiling, we exhaled before getting up and starting to set the table. After a couple of minutes, we were done and soon after heard footsteps coming down from the stairs. But before I could turn to greet them, I was tackled yet again by Koral.
"BIG BRO! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!" She shouted as she hugged me.
"You're welcome, Koral." I said, laughing as Stitch effortlessly pulled her off me.
"IT'S BEEN SO LONG SINCE I HAD YOUR FOOD!" She shouted before dashing off to her seat.
"Wait for us, dear." Xanthe warned with a smile as the rest of the family came in and took their seats.
"Morning, bros." Our sisters said as they took their seats.
"Morning Jaune, Stitch." Jumba and Pleakley said as they sat down.
"Are you still the first one up at Beacon, or no?" Terra asked as she sat Adrian in his highchair while Saphron put his bib on.
"Yes, but only by a couple of minutes as a teammate of mine also wakes up early." I answered as Stitch, and I took our seats.
"Did you make breakfast for them as well?" Pleakley asked.
"Yes, but my teammate often helped as we also made breakfast for our sister team." I answered.
"Enough talking. Let's say grace and dig in before the food Stitch and Jaune made gets cold." Xanthe said with a sweet smile that hid malicious intent. Nodding in fear, we began to say grace before digging into the food.
Half an Hour Later
"That was good." Koral said as she finished her food.
"Thanks, bros." Saphron said as she wiped Adrian's mouth with a napkin.
"What's on everyone's agenda today?" Xanthe asked as our dad collected the dishes and placed them in the sink. One of Jumba's most recent inventions immediately started to clean and put away the dishes.
"Terra and I are going on a date later." Saphron answered before turning to Scarlette, who was considered to be the most mature out of all of us despite being the middle child. "Think you can watch over Adrian while we're gone?"
"Sure." She answered as she finished her coffee.
"How about you, Koral?" I asked.
"I'm heading over to hang with my friends at the theaters." She answered.
"Jumba, Pleakley?" Xanthe asked.
"We'll be in the lab working on some inventions." Pleakley answered.
"We're currently in the process of making an invention that will either take the hassle out of paperwork or help with taking stains out of clothes." He answered.
"Wait, how does one- you know what? Never mind." Raven began to ask before stopping when she realized it wasn't worth trying to understand it.
"Think you can give us a hand, you two?" Pleakley asked, turning to us.
"Sorry, we're pretty busy today and possibly won't be free until much later." I answered.
"Oh, you both are going out? Where to? Perhaps the beach for a double date with your secret girlfriend, Jaune?" Roux asked with a smirk.
"Nah, just some errands me and Stitch have to run. Cobra asked us to do him a favor. Nani also asked us to watch over Lilo as she attends a job interview. Lastly, we need to help Gantu out as he's having trouble with training some experiments in self-defense." I answered.
"That's nice. Do you know what job Nani is interviewing for?" Cerise asked.
"Not sure." I answered before remembering something and turning back to Roux. "Sis, I need your help?"
"Sure, what's up? Need help with getting a girlfriend?" She asked.
"What is your obsession with getting Jaune a girlfriend?" Cerise asked.
"So, we can tease them endlessly, duh." Saphron answered with an evil glint in her eye.
"Some unknown number texted me earlier. I just need your help in seeing if it was a wrong number, a scam call, or a robot call." I answered.
"That's much less fun. But anyway, text me the number, and I'll have the answer in a few hours. And if it's a robot or scam call, I'll block them, so they won't be able to contact you again." She told me.
"Thanks, sis." I said as I took out my scroll and texted her the number.
"What time do you and Stitch have to leave?" Xanthe asked.
"Right now, actually." Stitch said as he wiped his hands clean.
"Well, be safe." Xanthe said with a caring smile as I zipped up my hoodie.
"Do you two need some lien?" Our father asked.
"We're good." I answered as we exited the home and closed the door behind us before locking it.
"Where to first?" Stitch asked.
"I'd say we head over to Nani's place as she has to leave soon for her interview." I answered as I took out my scroll and checked the time.
"Do you still remember where they live?" Stitch asked as we left the Arc property and headed into the outskirts of town.
"Yeah, of course. It's down this-" I began before realizing that I no longer remembered the path. Not to mention, they could also have moved to another location since I was at Beacon. "On second that, no."
"Heh, heh, heh." Stitch laughed for a couple of minutes before managing to calm down. "Follow me. They moved recently."
Nodding, I followed Stitch into town. As we made our way there, we smiled at all the experiments and townsfolk as they went about their lives. Honestly, it felt almost surreal to an extent to see all the experiments living together with the citizens of Arc Town. Yet, now, after years of living together, I can't imagine living without them. Looking around, we spotted and made mental notes to visit some of our favorite shops and stores at one point in the future. However, while they might seem like regular stores at first glance, they are actually run by some experiments.
"Gootcha, Stopgo." Stitch and I greeted experiment 102, A.K.A. Stopgo, as we came to a stop at the corner of the block. He was the experiment that Jumba designed to create traffic jams. Yet, thanks to him, after getting assigned to his one true place, has significantly decreased traffic jams and accidents.
"Gootcha." He said with a wave as the lights in his head changed from red to green, allowing us to cross the street.
"Takka." We said as we crossed the street. As we continued to make our way to Nani's place, we greeted everyone we passed. It was nice being able to see everyone that I grew up with again. After another ten minutes, we reached Nani's place. Yet, I was not surprised when I saw that she chose to move to a house close to the beach.
'She always did love surfing.' I thought as we walked up the walkway and knocked on the door. After a moment, we heard someone walking down the stairs with the door opening a second later.
"HEY JAUNE! STITCH!" Lilo shouted, surprised and excited when she spotted us.
"Hey, Lilo. How's our favorite friend been doing?" I asked, smiling as we did a special handshake.
"Been doing great. I have been practicing for the celebration tomorrow." She answered.
"What will you be doing?" Stitch asked.
"My friends and others will be performing some dances." She answered, causing us to smile to hide our internal wince. Lilo was incredibly sweet but was also extremely naive as she constantly assumed that Mertle and her group were her friends, despite how harshly they treated her.
"And they also made some great arts and craft projects as well." The voice of Nani cut in. Looking up, we saw Nani rushing towards us with a backpack in her hands.
"Hey, Nani." We said, smiling.
"Hey, Jaune. Stitch." She said as she closed the door and locked it. "Thanks again for agreeing to watch over Lilo while I'm gone."
"No problem. Good luck in your interview." I told her.
"Thanks." She said before turning and giving Lilo her backpack. "Be good, sis. I'll call when I get the chance, and I'll pick you up later in the day."
"Okay. Bye Nani." Lilo said as they hugged each other before pulling away with Nani rushing towards her car. She then turned to us. "What can we do first?"
"Well, Stitch, and I have some errands to run. Luckily, they won't take too long to finish. Afterward, we can go where you want." I answered as I picked her up and placed her on my right shoulder with Stitch sitting on my left.
"Yay!" She cheered before gaining a serious face and pointing forward with her right hand. "MUSH!"
"Hang on, Lilo." I said as I grabbed her and Stich's legs to stabilize them before running back into town.
"So, how was Beacon?" Lilo asked, enjoying the air hitting her face.
"Beacon is fine, and so is Vale. But nothing beats being here in Arc Town and hanging out with you two." I answered.
"Ah! I missed you too." Lilo said as she hugged my head, albeit carefully so as not to fall off my shoulder.
"We all missed you." Stitch added.
"Thanks, guys." I said with a smile as we reached town again before making some maneuvers to pull out my scroll.
"What do you and Stitch have to do first?" Lilo asked.
"First, we have to head to this address to check up on how the family and experiment are adjusting to each other." I answered as I pulled up the address, which, luckily, wasn't too far as it was only a five-minute walk from where we currently were.
"What cousin do they have?" Stitch asked.
"According to the files Cobra sent me, this family took in Experiment 043: Cubesteak. The family that took him in is a lovely couple of chefs named Rose and Jett. They own a restaurant that will open up this Sunday." I answered.
"What's Cubesteak's powers?" Lilo asked. curious
"He was one of Jumba's early and trial-like experiments. He can only cut meats into squares. Quite consistently, though, which is perfect for fondue and other recipes." I answered.
"What's fondue?" Stitch asked as we quickly arrived at the correct address.
"Fondue is a dish where you dip certain other foods into. A common dish type is melted cheese." I explained as we walked up to the front door. Grabbing Lilo, I placed her next to me before pulling up the files on my scroll again while Stitch rang the doorbell.
"Sounds tasty." Stitch said as he licked his lips.
"Can you make some Jaune?" Lilo asked.
"Another time." I answered before turning to Stitch. "Stitch, can you watch Lilo while I deal with this?"
"Sure." He answered as he grabbed Lilo by the hand and took her back to the sidewalk. He then opened her backpack, took out Scrump and a few other dolls, and began to play with them with Lilo. Smiling, I turned back to the door when I heard someone coming with the door opening a second later.
"Oh, hello, Jaune." Cubesteak greeted with a smile with his new family coming up behind him.
"Hello, Jaune. Glad to see you're back in town. Where's Cobra Bubbles?" The lady, Rose, asked.
"He's out of town on an important matter and asked me to handle the last part of the interview." I explained.
"In that case, come on in." The husband, Jett, said with a smile. Nodding, we entered the house and got this underway.
Two Hours Later
"Okay. Cobra will check up on you guys once he gets back. Other than that, have a great day." I told the family as I exited the house.
"Will we be seeing you at the celebration tomorrow, Jaune?" Rose asked.
"Of course." I answered.
"Speaking of which, here." Jett said, handing me three papers. Looking them over, I realized they were reservations for their restaurant. "One is good for your entire family, and the other is for Nani and Lilo."
"And the third?" I asked, curious.
"Is so you can bring your special one for a date at a separate time." Rose answered with a giggle before closing the door. Groaning, I pocketed the reservations before heading to the sidewalk. Looking around, I spotted Lilo and Stitch off to the side, drawing with the chalk I got for Lilo before I left for Beacon.
"Alright, that's done." I said, getting their attention.
"About time." Lilo said as she and Stitch began to put away the dolls and chalk.
"It was only a couple of minutes, Lilo." I told her.
"Actually, it was two hours." Stitch corrected. Raising an eyebrow, I pulled out my scroll and was shocked to see that two hours had indeed passed since I entered to check on the experiment.
"Wow. Time sure does fly. Anyway, we have some time before we need to meet up with Gantu. So, how about we grab a quick snack?" I asked while putting away my scroll.
"How about some-" Lilo began but stopped when we heard the sound of the ice cream bell. However, this wasn't any ordinary ice cream bell as it belonged to an ice cream cart owned by two experiments. "Shaved ice."
"Alright, Llio." I said with a chuckle as we began to look around for the cart. Luckily, we spotted it quickly as it was only across the street, turning the corner. Grabbing Lilo and Stitch, I picked them up before running over to the cart. "Wait."
"Ohufi, Matyrs." Experiment 344, A.K.A. Dupe, and experiment 523, A.K.A. Slushy, said with a wave as they stopped the cart.
"Ohufi!" We greeted back as I placed Stitch and Lilo on the ground.
"Three shaves ice, please." I said as I took out my wallet and pulled out twenty lien.
"What flavors?" Slushy asked as they opened the door.
"And what size?" Dupe asked.
"LARGE!" Lilo shouted, startling us.
"Two mediums and a large for this little one." I said, chuckling when Lilo stuck her tongue out at me.
"And flavors?" Dupe asked as Slushy began making the ice.
"Coconut." Stitch answered.
"Chocolate!" Lilo added, excited for the shaved ice treat.
"Grape, please." I said, smiling at Stitch and Lilo.
"Grape, Coconut, and Chocolate coming right up." Dupe said as he added the last touches. And in less than a minute, all our treats were ready. Grabbing them, I paid for the treats before heading to the nearby park to enjoy our treats.
"Thanks for the shaved ice, Jaune. Nani rarely lets me have some." Lilo said as she practically devoured the treat.
"You're welcome. But let's keep this between us." I told her as I more casually enjoyed my shaved ice.
"What's next?" Lilo asked.
"We have to meet with Gantu. to help train some cousins in self-defense." Stitch answered with a pained groan. He constantly forgets about brain freeze and often eats cold treats in one or two bites. Thus, resulting in him getting brain freeze.
"Slowly, Stitch." I said with a chuckle. "But anyway, yeah. After we finish with him, which would take about another two hours, we'll be done for the day."
"Where do you want to go afterward?" Stitch asked as he gently massaged his temples in vain to get the brain freeze to go away.
"How about the movies? I heard the new X-ray and Vav movie comes out today." Lilo suggested.
"Right, I completely forgot about that." I said, smacking my forehead.
"Even though that's one of your favorite movies and series." Lilo said with a smirk, causing me to roll my eyes. Taking out my scroll, I checked the times for the movie and noticed that the earliest time would be at five in the afternoon. And if helping Gantu took us the two hours I know it will, that would leave us with a solid three hours until the movie plays.
"Alright. We can see that movie. I have already booked the tickets for us. But that will still leave us a few hours to kill after we finish with Gantu. What should we do in the meantime?" I asked.
"Well, it would be around two. How about we get lunch?" Lilo suggested.
"That's a good idea." Stitch said, his brain freeze finally going away.
"And I know the perfect place. But right now, let's head over to the gym to meet up with Gantu." I said as I got up and threw away our trash.
Lilo and Stitch nodded before getting off the bench as well. Lilo walked next to me while Stitch furled himself into a ball as we made our way through the park to Gantu's gym. Although we did stop a few times to admire the park's beauty and how well some of the experiments and people of Arc Town were working together. Nearby, some construction men were working to remove some old benches and install new ones with experiments: 010, A.K.A. Felix and 606, A.K.A. Holio. Hearing some singing, we looked towards our left and saw some first-graders having a field trip to the park. Judging by the shovels and bags of vegetable seeds they carried, they were about to have a lesson on vegetation and farming. But our attention was drawn to the ground when we saw something burrowing towards them. Luckily, it was only the best experiment to help the kids with their lesson: experiment 040, A.K.A. Backhoe.
"Why did Gantu decide to open up a gym and teach self-defense?" Lilo suddenly asked.
"He wanted to give back and help others after all that he has done previously." I began to answer with Stitch picked up.
"And so, everyone can defend themselves in case something happens." He finished.
"How many martial arts does he know?" Lilo asked.
"According to him, he knows twelve different martial arts, not from Remnant. And I believe he's also taking some kickboxing classes." I answered as we reached the exit of the park.
"I still find it funny how he claims to hate the planet but loves so many activities we have to offer." Lilo said, laughing.
"Well, he dislikes the planet itself, not everything on it." I explained.
"Should we get him something as he's probably hungry from training all day?" Stitch asked.
"Eh, why not? Let's swing by Reuban's and get him his favorite sandwich." I said as we changed direction and headed to Reuban's sandwich shop.
Getting there after a couple of minutes, I went inside to order Gantu's favorite sandwich while Lilo and Stitch waited outside. After a couple more minutes, I came back out with a bag containing two egg salad sandwiches. Placing them in Lilo's backpack, I then closed it up before lifting her and putting her on my shoulders while Stitch furled himself into a ball again. We then resumed our way towards Gantu's gym, which took us only ten minutes since going through the park was a shortcut. Soon, we arrived at the gym, where I quickly noticed that it was unusually silent. Entering, we looked around and admired how well-stocked the gym was with various machines and workout equipment.
"I see you three finally made it." The voice of Gantu said, getting our attention.
"Hello, Gantu." Lilo said, slightly nervous at the twenty-foot-tall ex-federation captain.
"Hello, Lilo." He said before turning to Stitch and me. "Are you two ready to help?"
"Sure." We answered as I lowered Lilo into the ground before reaching into her backpack and pulling out the bag containing sandwiches. "We figured you might be hungry, so we got you some egg salad sandwiches."
"Thanks. Haven't eaten since I started training these experiments early in the morning." He said as he carefully grabbed the bag before leading us to the part of the gym where he taught self-defense to the experiments.
"No problem." I said as we looked around at all the equipment. 'Nora would definitely like to fight and wrestle with Gantu, should they ever meet.'
"What experiments do you need help with?" Stitch asked as I led Lilo over to a bench so she could observe us and not get hurt.
"With experiments 319 and 455." He answered while pointing to the two experiments that were taking a break.
"What you want us to do?" I asked, only to become extremely nervous when Gantu laughed and cracked his knuckles.
'This is going to be painful.' I thought as he led us over to the training mats.
Two Hours Later
"Thanks again." Gantu said as we exited the gym with him closing the doors.
"That was painful." I said as Stitch and I groaned while stretching a bit to relieve our sore muscles.
"But it was fun seeing you get tossed around by Gantu." Lilo added, laughing.
"Least one of us is laughing." I said as I rolled my arms a bit.
"Didn't you train like this while at Beacon?" Stitch asked.
"Yes, but never this intense or painful. Thankfully, my aura helped protect me." I answered.
"What's an aura?" Lilo asked, confused.
"Basically, something that can protect you. I'll tell you about it more when your older as it's difficult to understand." I answered, causing her to pout. Truthfully, despite Weiss and occasionally Velvet helping me, I still don't quite fully understand how aura works.
"So, where's the place you said we can get lunch?" Lilo asked.
"Right. Follow me." I said as I guided them to the best sushi place in town.
Fifteen Minutes Later
"Alright, here we are." I said as we reached our destination.
"A sushi place?" Lilo asked, confused.
"Oooh. I remember now. Sinker works here." Stitch said, remembering the experiment that we helped save and now works as a sushi chef.
"Sinker?" Lilo asked, curious.
"Experiment 602, A.K.A. Sinker. Jumba initially designed him to sink ships by slicing them in half. But now, after rehabilitating him, he works here as an excellent sushi chef with a lovely old couple of retired chefs." I answered.
"Well, let's go in. I've been craving some sushi for a while." Lilo said, excited. Nodding, we entered the restaurant and breathed in the delicious smells of different seafood getting cooked.
"Hello, Jaune. Stitch, Lilo." A voice called out to us. Turning to the counter, we saw an elderly lady smiling at us.
"Hey, Olive." We greeted with a wave.
"Good to see you three. How have you all been?" She asked as we took the seats in front of her.
"Just came back from helping Gantu teach some self-defense." I answered with a groan while Lilo laughed.
"Then you all must have worked up quite an appetite. What can we get you?" Cobalt, the husband of Olive and co-owner of the restaurant, asked as he walked up to us. Grabbing the menus, we looked them over for a few minutes before placing our orders.
"I would like the yellowtail fish sas-" Lilo began before having trouble saying the last word.
"Sashimi." We all said at the same time.
"Yes, that." Lilo said, causing us to chuckle.
"Got it. How about you, Stitch?" Olive asked.
"Chutoro nigiri sushi." He struggled to answer.
"And you, Jaune?" Cobalt asked.
"I'll have the same." I answered.
"Okay. Two orders of Chutoro nigiri sushi and one of yellowtail fish sashimi. Would you like wasabi, soy sauce, or pickled ginger?" Olive asked.
"Soy sauce." We answered as none of us could handle spice that well.
"Okay. It'll be out in a moment." Cobalt said as he and Olive went back into the kitchen. "SINKER! WE GOT AN ORDER!"
"Can you tell me of your adventures at Beacon?" Lilo asked, turning to me.
"What would you like to know?" I asked, smiling.
"Have you fought any giant monsters, and what's different between that and rescuing the experiments?" She asked.
"Well, I fought some Grimm and some bad guys, with the main difference between them being that I could get hurt pretty badly." I answered.
"Is it like being a superhero?" Lio asked, getting excited.
"Um, to an extent." I answered nervously as I never felt like a hero during the limited times I fought Grimm.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"Well, you see-" I began, unsure of how I should explain it to her. Thankfully, I didn't need to, as Cobalt returned with our order.
"Here you go, guys. Enjoy." He said with a smile.
"Thanks." We said while I gave him the money.
'Delicious.' I thought as we began to eat. However, as we ate, a thought came to mind. 'If Blake ever comes here, I should bring her here as she'll definitely like it.'
Half an Hour Later
"Thank you." I told the couple while waving to Sinker, who was chopping up some salmon.
"Will we be seeing tomorrow for the celebration?" Olive asked.
"Of course." I answered as we exited the restaurant.
"What time does the movie start?" Lilo asked.
"In less than an hour. Which gives us time to get to the theaters, get our snacks and find our seats." I answered.
"You already have the tickets?" Stitch asked.
"Yeah, I purchased them when we were in the park." I explained before feeling my scroll vibrate. Taking it out, I saw that I was getting a call from Nani. "It's for you Lilo."
"NANI!" Lilo exclaimed when she saw it was her older sister.
"Hey, sweetie. How's your day been?" Nani asked.
"Great. We walked around town, had some fun at the gym, and just ate some sushi." Lilo answered.
"That's nice. Anything else?" Nani asked, sounding suspicious.
"Yeah. Jaune brought all of us some shaved ice. " Lilo answered, forgetting that we agreed to keep it a secret. "I got a large chocolate one."
"Oh, did he now? Even though he knows you can't have that much sugar." Nani said in a tone that made me shiver in fear. "Anyway. I'm almost done with this interview. I'll be around to pick you up around eight, okay."
"Okay, sis." Nani said before ending the call and handing my scroll back.
"Traitor." Stitch, and I told her, to which she just stuck her tongue out at us.
However, this only caused us to laugh as we resumed making our way to the theater. But, instead of taking the quick path, we decided to take the longer route so we could greet some of the other residents of Arc Town. After about twenty minutes, we arrived at the theater. Taking out my scroll, I showed the lady at the ticket both our passes. She smiled before printing out some tickets and telling us what room our movie was playing in. Thanking her, we headed over to the concession stand to order our snacks. Yet, despite her valiant attempts, Lilo failed to convince either Stitch or me to buy her some sweets. When it was our turn, we ordered some sodas and two medium drinks. Paying for the snacks and drinks, we headed to theater seven, where our movie was playing and took our seats.
"What do you think this movie will be about?" Lilo quietly asked, already halfway done with her popcorn.
"It's most likely going to pick up where the previous one left off." I answered.
"Ssshhh. It's starting." Stitch said, his attention entirely focused on the screen. While it started as a simple joke, it became a fact that Stitch enjoyed the X-ray and Vav series just as much as I did.
"This is going to be good." Lilo and I whispered as the lights dimmed and the movie started.
Two and a Half Hours Later
"Now what?" Lilo asked as the movie finished, and the lights turned back on.
"We head home. Nani would be coming to pick you up soon." I answered as we tossed out our trash and exited the theater.
"Aww. I don't want the day to-YAWN- end." Lilo complained, only to yawn midway through her sentence.
"Come on. You're tired." I said as I lifted her and placed her on my right shoulder with Stitch climbing to sit on my left shoulder.
Walking through the busy night streets of Arc Town, we made our way back to our home. If there is one thing that can be said about Arc Town that no other place on Remnant can claim, it's that in Arc Town, you are completely safe at night. The crime rate here is zero percent, with the most recent crime being when Gantu tried to capture the experiments. But that was a long time ago. And Grimm wasn't a problem either as thanks to Jumba, they all now avoid Arc Town entirely. However, that was a story for another time. After about a fifteen-minute walk and cutting through the park, we made it back to the Arc Residence.
"Give me a hand, Stitch?" I asked him while silently motioning to the sleeping Lilo.
"No need. I got her." A voice said behind us. Turning around, we saw Nani running up to us with a smile.
"Ohufi, Nani." We softly greeted her as she reached us.
"Ohufi." She replied as she took Lilo from me. "Thanks again for watching over her."
"No problem. Anytime during the next three weeks, you need someone to watch over Lilo, I'll be happy to do so." I told her, causing her to smile in appreciation.
"Oh, what was your interview about?" Stitch asked.
"I applied to be a research pharmacist." She answered.
"Awesome. You always were good at math and chemistry." I told her.
"Hopefully, they think so too." She said, sounding unsure.
"Don't worry about them. We know you did great." I assured her.
"Thanks, guys. Well, I have to go and tuck Lilo back in her bed. See you guys tomorrow at the celebration." Nani said before walking back to her car.
Turning back around, I took out my keys and unlocked the door. Opening the door, we entered the house and closed the door. Seeing that no one else was there and the lights were off, we figured that either everyone was asleep or still out. Taking out my scroll, I saw that it was ten minutes past eight. But judging by the sounds of static and grinding coming from nearby, we surmised that Jumba and Pleakley were still up and working on an invention.
"Should we go help them Stitch?" I asked as I placed my keys in the key bowl.
"Sure. But let's try not to blow ourselves out." He said as we headed towards the lab we had made for Jumba and Pleakley. Getting there, we opened the door and saw Pleakley running around the lab and handing Jumba whatever he needed at the moment.
"Hey, guys." We shouted, startling them.
"CAREFUL!" Jumba shouted as he tried to prevent a test tube filled with a strange green liquid from breaking on the floor. Thankfully, Stitch managed to catch it in time.
"Hy, guys. How was your day?" Pleakley asked as he calmed himself down.
"Tiring but fun." I answered.
"But we're ready to help." Stitch added as he placed the test tube back where it belonged.
"HA, HAH! EXCELLENT! WE STILL HAVE A FEW HOURS BEFORE MIDNIGHT. WE CAN GET THIS AND POSSIBLY A FEW OTHER INVENTIONS DONE IN TIME FOR THE CELEBRATION!" Jumba cheered in excitement.
"Here. Better put on safety equipment, you two." Pleakley said as he handed us some goggles and lab coats. Although, I did let out a chuckle at seeing Stitch wearing the custom-made lab coat. While he technically didn't need one as he is insanely durable, we designed one specifically for him so he wouldn't feel left out. Plus, it made some great family and themed photos.
"Right then. Let's get started with the first one." I said as Stitch, and I simultaneously cracked our knuckles. "So, what's first?"
Three Hours Later
"Well, that's not the correct one." Jumba said as we exited the lab, coughing our lungs out after another failed attempt.
"Luckily, there's only two left. Unfortunately, that means we can still explode yet again." Jumba said as he controlled his coughing.
"Well done, you guys." A voice said, sounding amused. Looking up, we saw Scarlett watching us with a smirk. "You only managed to blow yourselves up eight times tonight. A new record."
"Ten. Ten times actually." Pleakley corrected.
"And that's ten times too many." A new voice said that sent shivers down our spines. Looking to our right, we saw Xanthe walking towards us with a sweet smile on her face. However, everyone in Arc Town knows that smile is just a facade as she's just hiding the fact that she's not too pleased with the current situation. Yet, she was only being protective of us and didn't like seeing us get hurt.
"Hey, mom." I said with a nervous chuckle.
"Go to bed, everyone. The celebration is tomorrow, and we still need to make some last-minute preparations." She told/ordered us with an aura radiating around her that dared us to defy her.
"Yes, mam." We all said at once. Pleakley and Jumba immediately went back into the lab to shut it down and safely store everything we used in the past few hours. Scarlett, Stitch, and I bid everyone a good night before quickly dashing off to our rooms. Getting there, we started to change into our pajamas before getting into bed.
"She's scarier than the grand councilwoman." Stitch commented as he hugged his plush sea turtle. "Did you meet anyone as scary while at beacon?"
"Well, not as scary but close. Yet, just like mom, she has good intentions and is only looking out for everyone." I answered before letting out a yawn.
"Jhua tehrqua." We told each other with a yawn before closing our eyes and trying to fall asleep. However, that proved difficult as despite being tired, we were excited for what was about to happen in a couple of hours. Luckily, sleep came to us after a few minutes.
Note:
Ahua shalom bye translates to Good Morning.
Gootcha translates to Hello/Hey.
Takka translates to thanks.
Ohufi translates to a casual greeting.
Matyr translates to cousin.
Jhua tehrqua translates to good night.
The next chapter will start the celebration with the entire celebration spanning a few chapters.
First part: Surfing contest along with a cooking contest.