:Peace
C/by: Kenjaje
Chapter 2: Search Party
The sun cast its light into the windows of the tower, and onto the faces of the two girls sleeping, one in the large bed near the wall, the other where Stitch still remained absent. They both woke at the same time; Angel sat up while Lilo still lay with her eyes open. Angel had stayed the night in hopes of seeing Stitch return in the morning.
"He's probably just trying to figure something out." Lilo told Angel only hours ago; "He usually goes off on his own when he's really depressed. I know because I do it too sometimes." However, to their disdain, Stitch's bed remained Stitchless. "He'll probably be gone for a while, but he usually comes back before morning. I kind of made him feel bad yesterday, I think he just wants some time alone."
"This is too much alone-time. Even for him." Lilo said. Angel didn't turn her head.
"I hope he's not..."
"Not what?" Lilo asked, as Angel trailed. But, she saw that Angel didn't want to say whatever she was about to, and decided to change the subject. "What were you doing last night anyway?" She prodded curiously.
"I wanted to tell him something...that's all." Angel spoke, jumping down from the height of the bed.
"Was it something important? Is it urgent?"
"No, nothing like that, I just..." Angel trailed again; Lilo grew suspicious.
"You're not hiding something from us again, are you?" Angel stared oblivious as to what Lilo was trying to lean toward, then realized that she was bringing up the past with Achie-baba Kino. Quickly Angel reassured.
"Naga, naga!" She almost pleaded; her eyes suddenly grew sad. Lilo saw Angel was telling the truth, she wouldn't deceive them again, whatever she had to tell Stitch was of a whole other matter.
"Well, if it's like that, then you don't have to tell me. I won't ask any more questions, but what about Stitch? Maybe Jumba can help, come on." Lilo grabbed Angel's hand, but Angel resisted. "Come on!" Lilo grunted, trying to tug Angel to the elevator.
"Please, no, I can't see Jumba!"
"And why not?" Lilo retorted, now gaining control in the struggle, and pushing Angel into the elevator.
"I just don't want them to know I'm still here, it'd be better if-"
"C'mon Angel, Jumba will help us find Stitch, just suck it up and go in!" Lilo pushed Angel out the elevator and up the hall, into Jumba's room, with much resistance. Jumba, while ticking away at his computer, was not surprised when Lilo rammed the door open, but when he saw Angel being dragged along by her, he began to revert to that state. However, his curiosity outweighed the lifted eyebrow of sudden wonder. "Jumba, we need your help."
"Ok..." He replied rhetorically, and with a hint of perplexity in his voice. "How am I being of assistance?"
"Stitch ran away," she replied explanatorily, "and we need you to track him down." She kept her charismatically pleading eyes fixated on Jumba as he scratched his chin.
"Has he...eaten cashew and shoe?"
"No." Lilo responded, predicting more questions to come.
"Shown any sign of aggressive hostile behavior and violent leering of oppressor?"
"No." She repeated, the same as before.
"Isn't he just going out for little while and then coming back later?"
"No, he's been missing since last night, and he always comes back before it's morning, he rarely stays out this long-Angel!" Lilo reached out and grabbed onto Angel, who was still exaggeratedly trying to escape and get away from the situation. Angel stopped her casual pace in mid step and turned around, with a small look of 'caught' on her face. "Can you help us track him down, Jumba?" Lilo asked again, turning toward the scientist.
"Well, luckily for you, computer scanner can pick up all experiments by genetic tracking system, it is being no problem to finding 626." Jumba grinned as he turned toward the computer and ticked a few keys, Lilo took Angel by the shoulder again and jumped up next to Jumba; the two onlookers watched with crossed fingers as one by one tiny blips came onto the screen, with numbers posted above or below them. Though, their hearts were let down; Jumba grunted with frustration and disbelief; Lilo groaned; Angel looked down at the floor; there was no blip labeled '626'.
"Jumba! I thought you said this would find him no problem."
"Bah, stupid junk, don't know what is being wrong with it. Is linked to Stitch's DNA. There is being no possible way for it to fail." Lilo dried a tear from her eye. Angel still looked uneasy, and Jumba rattled his fist at the computer for a moment longer.
"Come on Angel, let's go look for him outside, maybe he just fell asleep."
"Eh." Angel replied, happily.
"You try to fix that computer Jumba." Lilo ordered.
"Alright, alright. No need for to being pushy about it." Lilo quietly closed the door with a thank you, and ran upstairs to change while Angel proceeded on outside to look for the missing experiment.
"Oh...ah..." Came the disgruntled groans from inside the holding cell. Stitch opened his eyes blurrily, blinking three or four times and still not seeing clearly. "Aguta!" He shouted with pain, clasping the right side of his neck and thrashing violently. After a few moments, the pain subsided, and his hand relaxed from its tight grip. Instantly he felt something was wrong; on his neck was a large swollen lump, and open examining it with his fingers, it seemed to be pulsating-almost moving.
"Finally awake are you?"
"Gan...tu...?" Stitch slurred, looking at the blurry mammoth before him on the other side of the cell's glass.
"Aw, feeling a little painful aren't we?" He satanically cooed. Stitch began to growl, but as he did the cyst on his neck squirmed; he felt something inside of him move, he was sure this was no ordinary inflammation now. "Well, don't worry," Gantu continued, "soon, you won't be able to feel anything at all. And I mean anything." Stitch's eyes closed as he lost the energy to keep him awake, he found himself in an alert but sleepy state; awake, but paralyzed.
"Stitch!"
"Boochie-boo!"
"Stitch!"
"Boochie-boo!"
"Stitch!" Lilo and Angel called out for what must have been the millionth time, they'd searched nearly every square inch outside, even as far as the meadow of leaves. "It's no use." Lilo sighed, plopping down on the grass. "He's gone."
"Eh, naga chaki." Angel agreed disappointingly. They stayed outside in silence; Lilo fidgeted with the grass while Angel stood and pondered over Stitch's disappearance. "...it's probably better that he isn't here, I'm not prepared to tell him yet...but still, where is he?"
"...Angel?" Lilo hesitantly piped up, a thought had been provoking her mind ever since they had started searching.
"Eh?" She asked rhetorically, looking at Lilo.
"Why are you acting so strangely? Why are you avoiding Stitch?"
"I..." Lilo picked up a rock and tossed it just as Angel began to speak, but then she interrupted herself. "What was that?" She asked, her ears darting forward.
"What was what?" Lilo jumped up, looking at Angel, and then looking toward the direction Angel was looking; where she had thrown the rock.
"I just heard a ringing noise coming from that bush." Angel pointed.
"Are you sure?" Lilo leered. "Or are you trying to change the subject?"
"Naga," Angel replied sternly, "I'm sure I heard a ringing noise, when that rock landed." Angel pointed to the shrubbery. Lilo looked at Angel for a few more seconds, then turned toward the bush and walked over to it quietly, ready to turn around if Angel tried to run away. After pausing, Lilo knelt down and sifted around, pretending to look for something while still keeping an alert out for Angel. Except, her eyes widened with wonder as her hand came across something foreign to the bush. Upon removing it, she saw that it was Stitch's pendant. Lilo glanced closer at it; something was etched into the stone.
"Angel! Come look!" Lilo called, running up to her, and displaying the pendant, pointing out the stone. Angel's eyes narrowed, her face tightened. "Let's go to Jumba." Lilo said.
"Eh." It wasn't long before they ran back to the home, bursting through the door as they made their way to Jumba's room.
"I am being sorry little girl, is no use." Jumba said as he heard them come in. "Computer cannot find-"
"We know where he is." Lilo interrupted, showing him the pendant. Jumba nodded at Lilo and returned to her the pendant. "Did you fix the buggy?" She asked, her words nearly understandable with the haste she applied to her voice.
"As matter of fact I have, is out front, take it." He told her, hurrying her out the door as Angel followed with an eloquent stride down the hallway, out the stairs, and out the door once again. Nani had to dodge out of the way as Lilo and Angel bolted to the car.
"Can you drive?" Lilo asked, assuming the passenger's seat.
"Eh." Angel replied opening the adjacent door. She proceeded to turn the key, when Nani came out of nowhere and slammed her hand on the hood, startling the two inside.
"Lilo, where are you going so quickly?" She asked, leering at her younger sister, then glancing to the driver's seat; the look of disbelief was bold on her face. "What is Stitch's girlfriend doing driving the car? I thought she was evil!"
"Nani! Angel's not evil!" Lilo retorted. "She's just...just..."
"I don't care what she is, it's insane enough that I allow that destructive lunatic fuzz-ball to man the wheel. I'm not about to let his girlfriend drive; does she even know how to drive?" Lilo began to speak up, but Nani began to erratically speak again. "Why is she here, anyway? Where's Stitch?"
"That's what I've been trying to tell you." Lilo said calmly, as if she was talking to a psychopath. "Stitch turned up missing this morning, Angel came by to tell him something, we've been searching all day, and now we know where he might be, we just have to go and get him."
"Lilo," Nani started up again, except softer and more sympathetic, "I'm concerned. This is beginning to get very dangerous. I don't think you should be doing this anymore, for your safety."
"But-"
"No, end of story. No more 'adventuring'. You got seriously hurt last time you went on a 'big adventure' and now I'm thinking things over, and things are beginning to get a bit too rough for my little sister."
"But Nani," Lilo began to cry, "we have to find Stitch, he's in trouble."
"And you're going to be in trouble if you go to find him with that pink-"
"Excusing me." Jumba chimed in, standing at the doorway to the home. "Perhaps maybe I can be driving and going along with little girl, so as to be ensuring her safety. I will drive the buggy."
"Ugh..." Nani sighed, losing the will to argue. "Fine, go get Stitch, I don't care, but if Lilo gets hurt again, I'm holding you accountable." She told Jumba.
"Am reassuring you, be watching little girl as if own daughter." Jumba went into the drivers seat while Angel took her seat in the back between the two. Jumba adjusted the mirror and started the buggy. "Where are we to be going?" He asked Lilo.
"The ship." She replied, pointing at the pendant. Jumba nodded and stepped on the pedal. Lilo looked at the stone on the pendant a few times during the drive. On the stone she could tell what happened. She knew Stitch was kidnapped, for on the stone, in his claw marks, he had jaggedly carved one word that explained his disappearance clearly: 'Gantu'.
