Protection

C/By Kenjaje

Chapter 5: Calm

Clouds gathered in the sky, lofting over the tiny island. They're bottoms gray and heavy with raindrops, but they were merely on standby. One cloud in particular beaded down on the landscape with two eyes, 599 sat in the guise of the cumulonimbus.

The clouds around the experiment were ready to begin to the experiment's whim. But the sun had barely reached high noon "Now is too soon." The experiment thought. "But there are my targets, in that isolation of hills. That would be the perfect place...I should start there if anywhere..."

So as not to be seen, 599 moved deeper into the pith of the cloud, but still stayed below the gray-line; the experiment hated light more than anything, but soon the clouds gathering around would block out the sun completely. That was the plan, block out the sun to be able to walk on the ground around evening. Then the fun would begin...

"...And that's why we seem like we're not ourselves,"

"Eh,"

"Because we're really not ourselves." Angel's face was slightly drawn back, half understanding, and yet half confused. She glanced back and forth between the two, trying to figure out which one to address.

"Is Angel going to be ok?" Lilo asked, facing Stitch.

"I think we scared her..." Stitch replied, waving a hand in front of Angel's face. At first she didn't respond, but then flinched.

"I'm..." Angel began, but trailed immediately, still in the process of taking in the information.

"You're..." Stitch mocked, making Lilo laugh aloud.

"I'm...alright, this is just...slightly disturbing..." Again Angel's eyes glanced back and forth.

"That," Stitch began, "is an understatement. But, at least you know...so next time you won't try to-"

"No," Angel interrupted, a blush coming on her face, "no, I'll think twice next time." Lilo eyed the two, not quite understanding what they were talking about.

"Ok. And, just so we're both clear...that incident-"

"never happened." Angel finished the sentence, her arms crossing out in front of her.

"Gaba?" Lilo chimed in, feeling left out from the inside conversation.

"Nothing." Stitch said to Lilo, smiling innocently. A breeze passed by, as did a moment of silence, until Stitch stood and took a step away. "Stitch and I were actually going to see Jumba," he began again, talking to Angel, "but then I saw the coffee pot and...well..."

"Ah yes, the coffee..." Angel spoke nodding her head exaggeratingly. Another moment passed, all three of them looked at each other, then suddenly broke out laughing. "Just couldn't help yourself could you?" Angel managed to say.

"I guess not," Stitch sighed, "but now I can see why Stitch likes coffee."

"At least Lilo didn't eat coconut cake." Lilo said, rolling her eyes, causing the three to burst out with laughter again. After the noise quieted, Stitch rose from rocking on his back, and turned to the forest a distance away.

"Well, I'm going back. Don't stay out too long, Stitch." He waved as he disappeared in the thicket of trees.

"Eh." Lilo shouted. She turned to Angel and helped her to her feet. Angel let out an exhausted sigh.

"Looks like things are going to be pretty freaky for a while."

"No kidding..." Lilo agreed. "Angel happy." She commented, after cursorily glancing at Angel's smile.

"Eh." She replied bashfully. "What you said really helped me."

"Good." A light, and slightly cool breeze passed by, Lilo shivered. (Stitch wasn't quite used to skin, and its susceptibility to cold temperatures.) "Getting cold...Stitch better go back inside."

"Okay." Angel said, nodding. "Try to change back soon, too. I know its really you but I feel like I'm in love with Lilo..." Angel's comment caused Lilo to snicker noticeably. "Well! You'd feel that way too if I switched with someone like Pexx!" That only made the girl burst out laughing even more. Angel gave a mockingly angry gruff growl; Lilo snapped to a straight face. "At ease." Angel giggled, punching Lilo lightly in the arm.

"Ok, ok." A violent gust brushed by, Lilo's hair, and dress, and Angel's fur went along with its direction. "Getting colder."

"Yeah, you should go. I was planning on leaving soon anyway." Lilo frowned. "Don't worry, I'm not going to go very far, I'll still be close." Angel responded, reading Lilo's mind. That eased the frown, which was replaced by gritted teeth as another gust blew by.

"This is still so weird." Stitch thought, trotting through the trees, staring at his hands. A powerful breeze ruffled his fur. "Why is it so cold? Either fall is coming early, or Slushy's getting sick of the heat around here." A shiver went through his spine, and every strand of fur seemed to stand on end. "I hope Stitch isn't too cold...I'd be freezing if I were in my own body right now."

"Lilo! Kita!" Came Lilo's voice from behind, Stitch stopped and turned to see the darkened silhouette coming closer to him, then stop and pant as she reached his side.

"That wasn't very long..." Stitch said, referring to the time spent with Angel. "Are you cold? Because I sure would be."

"Freezing!" Lilo replied. "This worse then west Texas." She commented. Stitch let out a laugh and rubbed Lilo's arms to warm her up.

"Well, when we get back home, I'll ask Pleakley to turn up the heat a little."

"Oketaka." Lilo replied, as they began to walk again. For a long time they were quiet; admiring the little walk through the woods. The wind rustling the trees—and the occasional chatter of Lilo's teeth—seemed permanently present all around them. Though strange, the change of weather was something tranquil, especially with the forest; the forest added an ambiance of silence different from that of the silence of the house earlier that morning.

Stitch closed his eyes and listened intently to the noises around them, while still hugging Lilo close to keep her warm. Somewhere in the distance, the sound of water came to his ear, along with the call of birds and the silent chiming of the sunshine peeking in through the slightly dense canopy.

"I like this." Stitch said quietly, smiling. "We should walk here more often."

"E-e-eh." Lilo stuttered.

"Here, I'll carry you back, it'll be a lot faster that way." Before Lilo said an agreeing remark, Stitch lifted her onto his back. "Now...how do you make your extra arms come out again?" He asked.

"J-ju, nagita-"

"Wait, I think I might know." For quite a while Stitch had felt something on his back, sides, and head. Assuming that it was just something natural of Stitch's body, Lilo took no mind to the strange feelings of something "extra", but now, she realized, that these were his alien features—most likely. Her realizations were correct, as she felt Stitch's body react in an odd way; a feeling as internal bones moved outward, and another similar feeling as skin formed into hands around the protruding bones, made Stitch incredibly nauseated. "Whoa..." He groaned sickly, as the arms finished their formation. "I don't think...I ever want to have to do that again."

Suppressing the nausea, Stitch gripped Lilo's legs with the lower arms, and used the upper arms for momentum while he sprinted through the forest. Lilo leaned in low to avoid the low-riding branches, and violently attempted to hold on as Stitch swerved and swiveled through trees, over protruding roots, and through narrow bushes at the speed of a bullet.

"I know it's here somewhere..." Stitch muttered, tossing through a chest of clothes. "Where did it-aha!" He exclaimed, hopping out of the chest. "Here you go, put these on and meet me downstairs in Jumba's room. Lilo caught a pair of jeans, t-shirt, and an orange, full-zip, wool jacket with two pockets near the bottom.

In what seemed like an oddly long and aggravating amount of time, Lilo finally managed to change and proceeded down the elevator, and across the hall to the end to Jumba's room. She arrived in the middle of a conversation.

"Well, at least that's good to know." Stitch said with relief. "But I just wish you knew what happened, do you think there was a cause for it or do you think it just-"

"Ah, 626." Jumba greeted Lilo as she came through the door. "Was just explaining to little girl what I have discovered about the switching of your bodies. It seems that it is not—I am reiterating, not—permanent. I have experimented with pineapple and banana, and have found that they switched on inside, just like you two have done." He proceeded over to a table where he displayed the two fruits; the banana's innards were that of an apple, and vise-versa for the apple's interior.

"Though they are currently switched, there was a time where they were their original states. This means that there is, in fact, a cure to the switching."

"Unfortunately," Stitch chimed in, "Jumba didn't see what happened, so he's doing it again. Maybe this time he'll find out." Jumba rubbed his head in embarrassment. "But, like I was saying, Jumba, do you think something has to happen or do you think it just-"

"LILO!" The entire party in Jumba's room jumped with surprise at the sudden shout that came from behind them. Lilo turned and looked into the doorway to find a scowling, very angry looking, Nani. "Moses called." She said, quietly scolding the little sister. "Did you know that your first hula practice of the month was today, because I've only told you for the past week. Where have you been, why aren't you at practice?" Lilo started to say something, but Nani interrupted. "No, I don't have time for excuses, I've been called in to work again on an off-day. You're going to have to walk to practice, and when you get back home, we are going to have a little talk about responsibility."

"Again?" Stitch thought, letting out a low groan. "Wait a minute..." His eyes widened as it suddenly dawned on him. "I can't go to hula practice today! I'm Stitch!"