CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT:
…OR FORGOTTEN
The trip home to Kauai seemed to take a lot longer than the trip to California had taken. The solemn silence of the little ohana spoke volumes, and it was this silence that helped make the trip home bearable to Pleakley. After a week in the hospital he had been released, and it was time to go home. When he first walked out of the hospital, leaning heavily on Nani's arm, and climbed without a word into the backseat of Cobra's Ferrari, staring straight ahead unblinking, it was unanimously agreed on that he should be left alone. Pleakley was grateful for that. If anyone had so much as asked him the time of day, he wasn't sure he would even be able to respond.
Pleakley fell asleep twice on the Greyhound bus heading down to Los Angeles. After waking up the second time, he found himself alone on the bus. The bus made at least half a dozen scheduled stops along the way to L.A., each for no less than fifteen minutes at a time. He looked out of one of the tinted windows to see Lilo and Stitch playing Frisbee in a small park near a restaurant. Nani and Jumba were nearby, sitting at a picnic table and talking over a half-eaten meal. It was late in the afternoon, nearly sunset. In another two hours, they would reach the airport, and then in just a few more hours, they would be on a plane home to Kauai.
Home. With family. Pleakley shivered a little, half from the now-foreign thought and half from the chill winter air that wafted in through the open bus door. He fumbled through the carry-on bags until he found one of Jumba's massive lab coats and put it on. On his puny, matchstick frame, it was like wearing a tent, a coarse, itchy tent that smelled of sweat, smoke, sulfur and God-knows-what-else. He chucked it off and rummaged through another bag until he found one of Nani's sweaters. It was lavender, and smelled of lilac. He slipped it on, pleased by its scent and its silky feel. Pulling it over his head, the hair on his wig became ruffled, so he went into the tiny lavatory at the back of the bus to tidy up.
Looking at himself in the little mirror, he saw a stranger staring back. A pale, one-eyed stranger wearing his face and Nani's sweater, a black wig on his head and pink lipstick on his lips. The single large eye was glassy-looking and bloodshot, a dark shadow underneath it. And somewhere behind that eye was the mind of a man who had nothing more to lose.
Guh! You cannot possibly go out looking like THAT! a voice scolded him, and he reached into his little handbag for some rouge. I'm just stepping out for a minute, another voice argued back. And I'm only going to see my ohana. It won't bother them if I look like hell. That's how I've looked for the past week, anyway. He finished with the rouge and started to apply a darker shade of lipstick. Whoa, easy on the lipstick there! the first voice scolded him. What are you, a hooker? Pleakley scoffed at that remark and took out some mascara. So what's wrong with wanting to look pretty? he asked himself. Nothing at all, the second voice replied. But tell me, who are you trying to impress?
"Nobody!" Pleakley shouted out loud, surprising himself. He looked at the finished product in the mirror and tried to smile. Then what are you trying to hide? demanded the first voice. Nothing, was his weak reply. Yeah right. The reason most people try so hard to be pretty on the outside is to mask the ugliness that is on the inside. And you are hideous beyond forgiveness.
"No I'm NOT!" Pleakley yelled, pounding his fist against the mirror. Being of the reflective metal variety, it did not shatter, though his hand smarted a little from the blow. When he looked again at his reflection, he winced at the distortion caused by anonymous etchings in the metal, and by the warping of the metal itself. That mirror could make even the most beautiful face wretched, but Pleakley knew in his hearts that the mirror did not lie to him. The ugliness within him was enough to make him vomit, had there been anything in his stomach to throw up. The last meal he had eaten was hospital food the night before, and despite feeling ill now, he slapped himself mentally for listening to those foolish voices in his head before exiting the bus to join his ohana for dinner.
Relieved was an understatement for how they all felt when they finally arrived home the next day. Pleakley was not allowed to lift a finger upon entering the house. Jumba, Nani, Lilo and Stitch saw to everything; everything from his laundry to breakfast in bed, though the latter was not handled by Stitch for very long since Pleakley's breakfasts had a habit of 'vanishing' on the way to his bed. Pleakley, grateful as he was, insisted on falling back to his regular routine of household chores, claiming it was 'therapeutic' for him and that it would help get his mind off 'certain things.' A few days after their return home the ohana relented, and Pleakley found solace in vacuuming and ironing once again. By the end of their first week home, everything appeared to have gone back to normal. Pleakley was serene, almost cheerful now, and no matter how suspicious this seemed, no one dared breathe a word about the Kaizaxx or his mother or Leera in his presence. Pleakley acting like everything was okay was bad enough. Bringing up what had happened and then watching him snap was not even an option. For two whole weeks the entire ohana treaded on eggshells around Pleakley, until the day the grand councilwoman arrived on their doorstep.
Pleakley was napping in the hammock out back when she arrived. Nani was about to go call him inside when ZaiLeia told her not to bother. Instead, the grand councilwoman went out into the backyard by herself to speak to Pleakley. When he awoke to see her standing over him, he was startled at first. He hadn't seen her since their escape from the Kaizaxx three weeks earlier. She'd looked like hell then, so he was quite surprised to see how well she looked now.
"What are you doing here?" he asked her, his words sounding a little harsh and suspicious, although he hadn't meant them to. He hadn't even meant to say what he'd just said. It so surprised him to see her that the mere sight of her bombarded him with sudden painful recollections of that fateful night aboard the Kaizaxx ship. There may have been a slight hint of anger in his voice as well; anger, perhaps, for the fact that SHE had escaped with her life aboard the same escape pod as he had, while both his mother and the love of his life had been doomed to die in a fiery explosion in space.
"Agent Wendy Pleakley, I've come to inform you that you have been awarded the Supernova. Furthermore, you are being promoted to Federal Agent, First Class."
This news struck him like a blow to the stomach. "M-me? You mean… ME?!!" He glanced around disbelieving. "Are you sure you have the right person?"
ZaiLeia nodded.
"But, but - I'm ME! Wendy! I'm a nobody!"
"You mean a nobody who has just been awarded the Galactic Federation's highest honor," she corrected him, with a slight smile.
"For what?" Pleakley demanded incredulously. "I haven't done anything to deserve it!"
The grand councilwoman looked offended by this remark. "Haven't done anything?! Why, you've single-handedly prevented the Kaizaxx from achieving the information they needed to build weapons of mass destruction! You've thrown yourself into the line of fire countless times for the sake of protecting others, and you've helped bring about the downfall of an entire anti-Federation militia! If THAT doesn't deserve a Supernova, then I don't know what does."
For a long moment, Pleakley was speechless. For the first time in three weeks, he allowed himself to remember the details of that fateful night. Though he could see some merit in what she had claimed, he could see other things that could not be denied.
"I could never have done any of those things without help. My mom -" he choked on his next words, then paused a moment before plunging recklessly on. "My mom and Leera were beside me all the way. I was nothing without them, and that's what I am now. Nothing."
ZaiLeia growled in annoyance before kneeling down to look him directly in the eye. She put her hands on his shoulders and gripped them tight, and for a second, Pleakley thought she was going to start shaking him.
"Now you listen to me!" she hissed. "You are NOT nothing! You are a hero, and a damn good one, too! And don't you dare question my judgment!" She softened at the terrified look on the Plorginarian's face. She let go of him then, and stood up slowly. "I'm sorry, Mr. Pleakley. I know you've been through a lot recently. As for agents Vay and Leera… how fitting of you to acknowledge them." Her voice took on a very solemn tone as she spoke of the two women. "They did great things for the Federation, and that is why I am awarding them each a Supernova as well."
Pleakley's head snapped up at this announcement. Did she just say what I thought she just said? He opened his mouth to speak, but she had already turned away and was now heading back toward the house. Once she had gone inside, Pleakley collapsed back into the hammock, thinking. This can't be right. They're dead. His hearts wrenched painfully at that thought. And even if, by some miracle, Mom and Leera DID survive, then why haven't I heard from them by now? And the grand councilwoman didn't say anything about them being alive. But what about the Supernovas? She must have meant that she's awarding them posthumously.
A short while later Pleakley was called inside to get ready for the award ceremony. At Nani's insistence, he bathed thoroughly and put on his Federation uniform, freshly ironed. And a good thing he did. A small group of aliens were gathered at the lighthouse, setting up some equipment. When Pleakley was told that the award ceremony was going to be broadcasted live throughout several intergalactic networks, he panicked and tried to back out, but Lilo managed to lure him into a closet and lock him in until the last minute, when he was finally released and then 'escorted' by Jumba and Cobra to the makeshift stage.
When the moment came, Pleakley knelt on knees of jell-o before the grand councilwoman, who spoke in proud and solemn tones to the masses who were watching, both locally and light years away. Pleakley could barely hear her above the roar of a hundred voices arguing inside his head. What am I doing here? A Supernova? Me? I don't deserve such an honor! This is a mistake! When he heard his name, the voices fell silent, and he looked up at the councilwoman, who was now holding up a dazzling diamond-laid, platinum medal in the shape of a multi-pointed star.
"On this day, we recognize this man for his most extraordinary accomplishments.
For bravery in actions above and beyond the call of duty, I award you, Wendy Pleakley, the Galactic Federation's highest honor: the Supernova."
Pleakley bowed his head as she slipped the medal around his neck. An uproar of cheers and applause rang out from the small crowd gathered at the lighthouse as he rose to stand. Trembling, he turned to bow to his audience. He was fighting back tears and beaming like the sun as they cheered him. When the crowd quieted, the grand councilwoman continued.
"And now, the Federation wishes to confer this honor upon two other individuals, without whose efforts Agent Pleakley would not be standing here today. For valor most outstanding, I award Vay Pleakley and Leera Analilia each a Supernova."
At the mentioning of those two, Pleakley frowned, looking at the councilwoman like she was insane. He was further confused when he saw that she was now holding up two identical medals, just like his own. He could understand if she meant to award them both Supernovas as a posthumous tribute, but what he could not understand was why she was going about it the way she was. It was as if she were expecting them both to come walking onto the stage to accept their medals. What happened next made Pleakley's jaw hit the ground.
The crowds parted slowly to reveal two figures, walking side by side. As they approached the stage, Pleakley had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming. No. He wasn't. Yet there they were, walking toward him, both more beautiful than he could ever remember seeing them, and shining like angels. Vay and Leera both reached him at the same time, and Pleakley, overcome with emotion, collapsed into their arms and cried.